Hanwha Systems Invests 33 Billion KRW in US Kaimea to Accelerate Lead in Low Earth Orbit Satellite Antenna Market

The new electronic beam steering antenna (ESA) model 'U8' from Kaimesa Corporation, released this November

[Asia Economy Reporter Dongwoo Lee] Hanwha Systems is making comprehensive investments to secure core technologies in the low Earth orbit satellite antenna market.

On the 24th, Hanwha Systems announced that it will invest $30 million (approximately 33 billion KRW) in Kaimea, a U.S.-based leader in electronic beam steering antenna (ESA) technology, establishing a strategic partnership for mutual cooperation.

Kaimea is a technology venture company currently commercializing and selling electronic satellite communication antenna products. Starting next year, Hanwha Systems plans to secure exclusive distribution rights for Kaimea’s satellite antenna products in the Korean market and will work on developing both domestic and international markets. The two companies also plan to jointly develop next-generation electronic satellite communication antennas.

Founded in 2012 in Washington State, USA, Kaimea has succeeded in commercializing electronic satellite antennas based on metastructure technology. It is a promising company providing mobile ESA products and communication services that can be attached to vehicles, buses, trains, and ships in remote or maritime areas requiring internet access via satellite communication. Kaimea currently holds U.S. and international patents and technological assets for metastructure satellite communication antennas. Its usage is known to be increasing in military and government sectors due to high demand in disaster, emergency, and conflict zones.

Kaimea’s antenna products, highly rated for price competitiveness, mass production capability, and product scalability, implement metastructure satellite communication beam steering technology. The metastructure of Kaimea antennas forms fine patterns on the glass substrate of satellite antennas to control the wavelength and form of radio waves, sound, and light, facilitating communication with satellites. This technology is applied not only to satellite communication antennas but also to new application fields designed to interact with light and sound waves, such as holograms and invisibility cloaks.

In June of this year, Hanwha Systems acquired the business and assets of the UK satellite antenna technology venture 'Phaser Solutions' and established Hanwha Phaser, actively pursuing early dominance in the low Earth orbit antenna market, which is expected to be a future growth engine.

Hanwha Systems’ strategy is to simultaneously secure Kaimea’s metastructure-based antenna technology, known for practicality and marketability, and Hanwha Phaser’s semiconductor chip-based high-performance antenna technology, thereby enhancing its capabilities in the low Earth orbit satellite communication antenna business across maritime, aerial, and terrestrial domains.

The market size related to satellite communication antennas is expected to continue growing, reaching 50 trillion KRW by 2026. Companies such as Amazon and SpaceX in the U.S. and OneWeb in the UK are actively entering the low Earth orbit satellite communication business.

Kim Yeon-cheol, President of Hanwha Systems, said, “Following the establishment of Hanwha Phaser and the new investment in Kaimea, we aim to diversify our technology portfolio in the low Earth orbit satellite antenna market and establish ourselves as a global leader. Based on our industry-leading defense communication and radar technologies, we will strengthen our aerospace system capabilities for the space internet era.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.