Hanwha Launches Space Business Dedicated Team 'Space Hub'... President Kim Dong-kwan Leads

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] Hanwha Group is launching a 'Space Hub' to oversee its entire space business. Kim Dong-gwan, president of Hanwha Solutions and eldest son of Hanwha Group Chairman Kim Seung-yeon, will lead the Space Hub team and oversee Hanwha Aerospace's space business.

Hanwha Aerospace announced on the 7th that it will launch the Space Hub, which consolidates core technologies scattered across Hanwha Group in one place. Engineers from Hanwha Aerospace who participated in the development of the Korean launch vehicle 'Nuriho' will be at the center of the hub, along with communication and imaging equipment specialists from Hanwha Systems, experts in various weapon systems from Hanwha, and the private satellite company Satrec Initiative, recently acquired by Hanwha Aerospace, is also expected to participate in the future.

In the long term, Hanwha Group explained that the space business could be promoted by loading Satrec Initiative's satellites onto Hanwha Aerospace's launch vehicles and equipping them with Hanwha Systems' communication systems. A Hanwha official said, "The hub is not an organization above each company but a comprehensive control room for the space sector with a strong sense of field presence."

The Space Hub will be led by President Kim. He was nominated as a registered executive of Hanwha Aerospace on the 26th of last month. President Kim said, "To compete with global companies, expertise and full support are necessary," adding, "I will find the shortcut to space together with engineers."

Hanwha explained that through the Space Hub, it plans to monitor trends in overseas private space businesses and set research directions and business models. The Space Hub will focus research and investment on manufacturing fields such as launch vehicles and satellites, as well as service fields including communications, earth observation, and energy. It also plans to actively recruit talent in these areas.

They are also considering linking Hanwha Solutions' solar technology, the number one solar module company in the U.S., and the technology of Cimarron, a U.S. hydrogen and space tank specialist company acquired by Hanwha Solutions, with the space business. President Kim said, "The space industry is something someone has to do," and added, "We will proceed with development with the attitude of fulfilling our social responsibility."

According to Morgan Stanley, the global private space market is expected to grow to about $1.1 trillion (approximately 1,220 trillion KRW) by 2040. Hanwha Aerospace stated, "We believe that more investment may be necessary to secure global competitiveness in the short term with our current technology, and we are reviewing the specific scale of investment," adding, "In addition to private investment, government support will likely be needed from the perspective of securing national technology."