Former GE Renewable Energy technology chief Danielle Merfeld will join solar equipment giant Qcells as it embarks on a big US growth push.
Merfeld becomes chief technology officer at Qcells – owned by South Korea’s Hanwha – the same position she held at GE’s renewables arm.
Qcells is currently setting out on a major expansion of its US capacity, including a new factory in Georgia.
The group is also embarking on a push to by 2026 commercialise perovskite-based tandem cells that it says have shown record efficiencies in the lab.
Merfeld said she intends “to use my experience in advanced energy solutions to build out R&D capability in the US to serve growing demand”.
US solar is expected to emerge as a big winner from the spur to green manufacturing and project builds given by the nation’s Inflation Reduction Act.
