- Qcells has secured the services of Dr Danielle Merfeld as its Global CTO from the GE Group
- She worked with GE in various positions with the last one being global CTO of GE Renewable Energy
- At Qcells, she will be tasked with overseeing the company’s R&D for advanced solar products including perovskite tandem cells
- She will also be advancing the company’s plans to develop its integrated solar supply chain in the US
Global energy solutions company Qcells has brought on board a GW long timer Dr Danielle Merfeld, who till recently was the vice president and chief technology officer (CTO) of GE Renewable Energy, as the company’s own Global CTO.
“As a global chief technology officer, Dr. Merfeld will oversee Qcells’ research and development for advanced solar products, including perovskite-based tandem cells, which can absorb different wavelengths of sunlight more efficiently than single-layer solar cells. Qcells has pledged to commercialize such high-efficiency tandem cells by 2026 after its R&D team in Germany achieved a record efficiency of 28.7% last year,” stated Qcells (see 28.7% Efficiency For 2-T Tandem Solar Cell).
Merfeld had been working with GE since December 1999 in diverse roles and various group brands as GE Global Research, GE Energy and GE Renewable Energy.
Now at Qcells, Merfeld will be tasked with accelerating the company’s efforts to enhance its technology capability in the US ‘as it embarks on building the country’s 1st fully integrated solar supply chain’.
Notably, in the US, Hanwha Solutions owned Qcells is building 8.4 GW solar PV production capacity in Georgia, with a 3.3 GW solar hub producing ingots, wafers, cells and modules (see Hanwha Solutions Planning 8.4 GW US Production Capacity).
Qcells operates its other 3 manufacturing facilities in South Korea, Malaysia and China.
