Governor Brian P. Kemp today announced that Hanwha Advanced Materials Georgia, Inc. (HAGA), a manufacturer of lightweight advanced materials for sustainable technology, will create more than 160 new jobs in the City of Cartersville. The company will invest an estimated $147 million in a new manufacturing facility to supply the Qcells facility in Cartersville.

“Georgia is leading the nation in attracting next generation jobs,” said Governor Brian Kemp. “Since we first welcomed Qcells to our state in 2018, we've announced more than 4,000 related jobs for hardworking Georgians. We're proud that Hanwha Advanced Materials is adding to that growing number as it becomes a valued member of the Bartow County community.”

Hanwha Advanced Materials Georgia, Inc. is a subsidiary of Hanwha Group and will supply Qcells with encapsulant film. These materials are used in solar cells to ensure long-term panel durability. HAGA will be the only company in the United States manufacturing solar encapsulants.

“The products we make are an important piece of the clean energy supply chain puzzle, and we are excited to meet this need,” said Inhwan Kim, CEO of Hanwha Advanced Materials. “Building our cutting-edge, advanced materials in Georgia will not only create new careers in solar but help bring more affordable, reliable clean energy to customers across the country.”

“Qcells is doubling down on building a complete, domestic solar supply chain, and this recent investment is critical to making that happen,” said HG Park, President of Qcells North America. “Working with Hanwha Advanced Materials, our customers will soon be able to confidently know that the solar they buy from us was made right here in America.”

HAGA will construct a new manufacturing facility located at Highland 75 Corporate/Industrial Park, a Georgia Ready for Accelerated Development (GRAD) certified site in the City of Cartersville. The facility is predicted to come online in Summer 2024. The company will be hiring for engineers and line operators. Interested individuals can learn more about working at HAGA by visiting www.hwam.co.kr.

“Our community is thrilled to be adding another Hanwha affiliate to our growing family of industries. Their investment in bringing quality jobs to our community is greatly appreciated,” said Mayor of Cartersville Matt Santini. “Our mix of industries in Cartersville and Bartow County is further diversified by adding them to our local mix, and one of our goals from the beginning was to recruit world-class companies to our area. This helps accomplish this goal. It is also important to note that this is another clean energy company coming to our community, illustrating the growth and importance of that market."

“This news is a testament of our community’s patient planning efforts to jumpstart quality economic development years ago, after difficult economic times,” said Bartow County Commissioner Steve Taylor. “We are very happy to welcome Hanwha Advanced Materials Georgia, Inc. to Cartersville-Bartow. Their jobs of the future will be appreciated by not only jobs seekers, but also the broad local team that has invested so much effort in preparing a place like our GRAD-Certified Highland 75 Corporate/Industrial Park.”

Project Manager Jacob Lee represented the Georgia Department of Economic Development’s (GDEcD) Global Commerce team on this competitive project in partnership with the Bartow-Cartersville Joint Development Authority, Cartersville-Bartow County Department of Economic Development, Georgia Electric Membership Corporation (Georgia EMC), and Georgia Quick Start.

“Hanwha Advanced Materials provides key components for the solar supply chain in Georgia, supporting our state’s commitment to making energy solutions more affordable to businesses and consumers,” said GDEcD Commissioner Pat Wilson. “Over the past five years, clean-tech jobs have been one of the fastest growing manufacturing sectors in Georgia. We are excited that Hanwha Advanced Materials will add another crucial part of the solar supply chain to Georgia’s already robust ecosystem.”

As a Top Ten state for solar energy production, solar photovoltaic is the fastest-growing source of energy in Georgia, which the Solar Energy Industries Association ranked seventh by cumulative solar capacity in 2022. Georgia’s energy solutions providers are helping to accelerate the development of renewable energy products by lowering risks, reducing costs, providing access to innovative industry research, and investing in a superior infrastructure network.

To reduce supply-chain barriers to the growth of the solar industry, companies like Qcells are dedicated to building a comprehensive solar value chain in the U.S. In January Qcells announced it would expand its solar panel production capacity in Georgia to 8.4 gigawatts, 3.3 gigawatts of which will be manufactured at the Bartow County facility by 2024.