Hanwha Group's Eco-Friendly Business Receives 5 Trillion Won Funding Support from KDB Bank

100 Billion KRW Fund Established to Support Carbon Reduction for Small and Medium Enterprises

Seung-duk Park, CEO of Hanwha Total Petrochemical (from left), Kwang-ho Choi, CEO of Hanwha Engineering & Construction, Dong-kwan Kim, CEO of Hanwha Solutions, Dong-geol Lee, Chairman of Korea Development Bank, In-seop Jung, CEO of Hanwha Energy, and Hyun-soo Cho, CEO of Hanwha Power Systems, are posing for a commemorative photo after the agreement ceremony at Hanwha Solutions Q CELLS Jincheon Plant on the 12th. Photo by Hanwha Group

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dae-yeol] Hanwha Group signed an agreement with Korea Development Bank on the 12th for the ‘Green Energy Promotion Industry-Finance Cooperation Program.’

As Hanwha Group expands its eco-friendly energy businesses such as solar power and hydrogen, Korea Development Bank will supply up to 5 trillion won over the next five years. The company plans to use the funds for mergers and acquisitions (M&A) of companies in the green energy sector, research and development (R&D), facility investments, and operating capital. They will also collaborate to create a low-carbon industrial ecosystem. A 100 billion won fund will be established within this year to foster small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and mid-sized companies related to green technology. Hanwha and Korea Development Bank will each contribute 30 billion won, with 40 billion won raised from the private sector.

The signing ceremony held at Hanwha Solutions Q CELLS division’s Jincheon plant was attended by Korea Development Bank Chairman Lee Dong-geol, Hanwha Solutions CEO Kim Dong-kwan, Hanwha Energy CEO Jung In-seon, Hanwha Total Petrochemical CEO Park Seung-duk, Hanwha Construction CEO Choi Kwang-ho, and Hanwha Power Systems CEO Cho Hyun-soo, among other representatives from related affiliates. CEO Kim Dong-kwan stated, "We will advance our green energy business model and develop next-generation new technologies to prepare for a new decade as a global green energy leader."

This agreement is part of the industry-finance cooperation program promoted by Korea Development Bank to foster key domestic industrial ecosystems. Hanwha Group is the first recipient in the low-carbon and eco-friendly energy sector. The company regards this as official recognition of its ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) management efforts by a policy financial institution.

Previously, Hanwha Group decided to invest 9 trillion won over five years for global M&A and talent acquisition related to solar power and hydrogen. In the solar power business, the company plans to move beyond the business model of manufacturing and selling modules to offer differentiated services based on information technology or to expand the virtual power plant business based on distributed generation by analyzing surplus power through artificial intelligence technology using data on power consumption patterns.

Additionally, Hanwha is developing next-generation anion exchange membrane water electrolysis technology that compensates for the drawbacks of existing energy-intensive water electrolysis technology. The company has also consecutively acquired U.S. high-pressure tank company Cimarron, as well as PSM and ATH, which possess gas turbine performance improvement and hydrogen co-firing retrofit technologies. To invest in eco-friendly energy businesses, each affiliate has issued green bonds, totaling 700 billion won this year alone.