Hanwha Q CELLS stopping production in Germany, shifting lines to Malaysia

January 21, 2015
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email

PV manufacturer Hanwha Q CELLS, said it would close down all solar cell and module manufacturing capacity in Germany and relocate the lines to its main production facility in Cyberjaya, Malaysia with the loss of 550 jobs. 

Hanwha Q CELLS has a solar cell nameplate capacity of 230MW and 130MW nameplate capacity for PV modules at its headquarters in Thalheim, Germany. The plants were regarded as its leading-edge lines that were the first to integrate new developments from its R&D centre also located in Thalheim. 

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Try Premium for just $1

  • Full premium access for the first month at only $1
  • Converts to an annual rate after 30 days unless cancelled
  • Cancel anytime during the trial period

Premium Benefits

  • Expert industry analysis and interviews
  • Digital access to PV Tech Power journal
  • Exclusive event discounts

Or get the full Premium subscription right away

Or continue reading this article for free

R&D activities were said to remain in Thalheim.

The company said that had made the decision independently of the planned merger with sister company, Hanwha SolarOne and was driven purely by cost competitive issues within the PV industry. 

Kasey Son, CFO at Hanwha Q CELLS, said: “Against the background of the keen cost competition in global solar industry, the management of Hanwha Q CELLS has decided to transfer the German cell and module production facilities to more cost competitive sites including our Malaysian factory. This hasn´t been an easy decision considering the impact on our employees in Germany, but it is necessary in order to ensure the overall competitiveness of Hanwha Q CELLS. I´d like to emphasize, that this decision has been made independently from the recently announced merger of Hanwha Q CELLS with Hanwha SolarOne.”

All production is expected to halt on March 1, 2015.The company noted that 350 jobs would be maintained at Hanwha Q CELLS in Germany. 

Justin Lee, Hanwha Q CELLS' CCO added, “The current program won´t have any impact on our customers, who can fully and continuously rely on the outstanding performance of Q CELLS products – “Engineered in Germany”. Our customers will benefit from this step to further increase the overall competitiveness of Hanwha Q CELLS and our ability to serve the international markets with high quality PV products and solutions for optimized LCOE.”

Read Next

October 27, 2025
Australian solar developer, BNRG Leeson, has submitted plans for a 440MW solar PV facility in Victoria's Campaspe Shire to Australia’s Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act.
Premium
October 24, 2025
Marcel Suri explores the datasets that will help improve the accuracy of PV output estimation and drive better performance.
October 24, 2025
US solar tracker manufacturer Nextracker and Saudi-based energy company Abunayyan Holding have formed a joint venture (JV) in Saudi Arabia.
October 24, 2025
The Saudi state-owned renewables developer Masdar has begun construction on a giant solar-plus-storage project in Abu Dhabi.
October 23, 2025
The average price of a solar PPA signed in Europe in Q3 2025 fell below €35/MWh, reaching €34.25/MWh, according to LevelTen Energy.
October 23, 2025
Infrastructure investment firm Nuveen Infrastructure has secured US$171 million in financing for a 137MW solar PV plant in South Korea.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
November 25, 2025
Warsaw, Poland
Solar Media Events
December 2, 2025
Málaga, Spain
Solar Media Events
February 3, 2026
London, UK
Solar Media Events
March 10, 2026
Frankfurt, Germany
Solar Media Events
March 24, 2026
Lisbon, Portugal