By Kim Yoo-chul
Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI), which runs the world's biggest shipyard, has teamed up with Compagnie de Saint-Gobain SA, Europe's top supplier of building materials, to build the biggest solar cell-producing plant in Korea.
In a press release, the shipbuilder said the plant will be completed in the first half of 2012 at an estimated cost of 220 billion won.
``Hyundai and Saint-Gobain will be 50-50 equal partners. Hyundai is aiming to become the world’s fifth-largest solar cell manufacturer by 2015,’’ said senior Hyundai spokesman Kim Kwang-guk, Monday.
The production capacity of the cells made at the plant will be boosted to 400 megawatts (MW) by the end of 2015 from an estimated annual capacity of 100 MW in the initial phase, according to Kim.
``The facility will make copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) thin-film solar cells as Hyundai believes in the marketing potential of CIGS cells, given their high conversion efficiency and low manufacturing cost,’’ Kim added.
CIGS technology is still currently in its ``infant stage’’ and no company has begun mass production.
The announcement comes after Hyundai injected more resources to raise its presence in the solar-cell and wind-power areas ― two promising new corporate earnings drivers ― amid a stalled shipbuilding sector.
``One key point is HHI has been diversifying its business portfolios for corporate sustainability. Heavy dependence on shipbuilding doesn’t guarantee our future,’’ said a senior Hyundai executive, adding the company is looking to strike another acquisition deal in the non-shipbuilding sector.
According to the company, Hyundai invested 280 billion won in renewable energy resource, last year ― some 20 percent out of the total 1.43 trillion won that it had allocated for facility investment in 2009.
As part of the consistent drive toward non-shipbuilding sectors, Hyundai issued 300 billion won in corporate bonds for the first time last year, though the continued bearish market was heavily weighing on most leading shipbuilders.
It recently struck a $700 million deal to build a solar-cell plant in the United States, while it is additionally eyeing the wind power market in China.
``HHI’s solar-cell business has been on the upswing, helping it secure its bottom line even under a market downturn,’’ said Song Jae-hak, an analyst at Woori Investment.
Hyundai’s Kim said the company is aiming to reap 1 trillion won in sales from the solar-cell business from 150 billion won in 2009.
As of the end of August, this year, Hyundai has $9.96 billion worth of orders from non-shipbuilding sectors ― some 77 percent of its current total orders of $12.944 billion, while sales from non-shipbuilding sectors took up 64 percent of the total during the first eight months of 2010.