Hanwha Solutions said on May 19 it has invested in a solar power software company, diversifying its business portfolio that is currently focused on hardware such as solar power cells and modules.

This is the first investment finalized by the Hanwha Group affiliate since Vice President Kim Dong-kwan took charge in March.

Hanwha Q Cells’ residential solar power module (Hanwha Q Cells)

The company recently acquired a 20.26 percent stake in Australia-based energy management system firm SwitchDin that specializes in virtual power plant technology, the company said.

Hanwha Solutions is a newly formed corporation upon the merger of Hanwha Chemical and its wholly owned solar panel subsidiary Hanwha Q Cells and Advanced Materials in January.

The VPP technology provides a centralized cloud platform where companies can integrate small-sized solar power generation and energy storage systems facilities and manage them like a single power plant without additional infrastructure investment. For example, the cloud platform offers a unified real-time management on solar power modules installed at each home.

According to market tracker P&S Market Research, the VPP market is expected grow to $11.8 billion by 2023.

By Kim Byung-wook (kbw@heraldcorp.com)