Ex-GE Renewable Energy tech chief Danielle Merfeld joins solar giant Qcells

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.