Leibniz Institute - Increased Efficiency for CIGS Solar Cells

Ref: http://www.nanowerk.com/news/newsid=20023.php

Posted: Feb 7th, 2011


Increased Efficiency for CIGS Solar Cells

(Nanowerk News) Scientists at INM — Leibniz Institute for New Materials developed a barrier layer that separates the metal carrier from the absorber film and thus increases the efficiency of metal-based CIGS solar cells. For the first time, the INM program division "Optical Materials" presents this development in the German Pavilion at the international trade fair "nano tech 2011" and also nationwide at the Hannover Messe 2011.

Corrosion and poor isolation between substrate and carrier material cause a lower efficiency for CIGS solar cells apart from other influences. Solar cells consist of copper (C), indium (I), gallium (G), and sulphur (S). Glass as carrier material and the low efficiency prevent the flexible application of these future solar cells in the automotive industry, for example.

The developed layer is glass-like. "It works as iron diffusion barrier and thus prevents corrosion and oxidation of the carrier", explains Peter William de Oliveira, head of the program division. "At the same time, the barrier works as insulating layer and reduces unintentional electrical currents from the absorber to the carrier", says Oliveira. Both functions increase the efficiency of metal-based CIGS solar cells by up to 13 percent.

The glass-like diffusion barrier is applied on the metal carrier by means of the sol-gel process. It is transparent and flexible and has a thickness of only a few micrometers. The INM scientists developed both the layer and up-scaled process. By means of dip coating and slot coating they produced foils in a DIN A3 size. The traditional roll-to-roll printing process allows the production of continuous layered foils up to a length of 50 meters and a width of about half a meter.

These and other applications are exhibited by INM at the international trade fair "nano tech 2011". Included are coatings with special properties, as for example transparent conductivity, antiadhesive, scratch-proof, antireflective or self-cleaning function, or layers for friction reduction or corrosion protection. Multifunctional coatings, which combine several of these properties, also belong to the INM research portfolio. The INM – Leibniz Institute for New Materials presents itself in the German Pavilion (Booth E-18-24) at the nano tech 2011 in Tokyo from 16th to 18th February 2011.

At the Hannover Messe, too, INM will present its skills and competencies at the Booth A-50 in Hall 2 – the Leading Trade Fair for Research and Technology and the International Leading Trade Fair for Research, Development and Technology Transfer.

The INM — Leibniz Institute for New Materials, situated in Saarbrücken (Germany), engages in fundamental and applied materials research – from molecules to pilot production. In interdisciplinary cooperation, the work of INM includes the fields of chemical nanotechnology, interface materials and materials in biology. Its focal research fields are chemical synthesis, physical analysis of surfaces, coatings and interfacial materials.


Background:

A recently published study of Lux Research Inc. confirms that the cost of goods sold for CIGS solar cells will rapidly decrease over the coming years. According to this study, an increased efficiency, among other things, will contribute to a gross margin of over 30 percent.

Contact:

Diffusion barrier, conductive transparent coatings, multifunctional coatings:
Dr. Peter W. de Oliveira
INM — Leibniz Institute for New Materials
Phone +49 681 9300 148
Email: peter.oliveira@inm-gmbh.de


Anti-adhesive coatings, scratch-proof coatings, coatings for friction reduction, multifunctional coatings:
Dr. Carsten Becker-Willinger
INM — Leibniz Institute for New Materials
Phone +49 681 9300 196
Email: nanomere@inm-gmbh.de


Source: INM - Leibniz Institute for New Materials


# # #

Foundation stone ceremony at Neste Oil's NExBTL renewable diesel plant in Singapore

Taken from: Fox Business News

Friday, March 06, 2009

ESPOO, FINLAND, Mar 06, 2009 (MARKET WIRE via COMTEX) ----- project proceeding on schedule and budget

Neste Oil held today a Foundation Stone Ceremony to officiate the construction of its EUR 550 million NExBTL renewable diesel plant in Singapore. Neste Oil's President and CEO Mr Matti Lievonen was in attendance, and Mr Lim Hng Kiang, Minister for Trade and Industry, Singapore was the Guest-of-Honour at the event.

"The construction of our NExBTL renewable diesel plant in Singapore is proceeding on schedule and on budget. The market has been highly unpredictable in the past year but the Singapore plant plays an important part in our long-term strategy for growth, and our commitment to the project remains solid. We are very grateful to the local government for the support they have given us and look forward to when the plant is officially inaugurated in 2010," stated Mr Matti Lievonen.

Upon completion in 2010, Neste Oil's renewable diesel plant in Singapore will be the largest in the world with an annual capacity of 800,000 metric tons. Neste Oil's patented NExBTL technology allows flexible use of any vegetable oil or animal fat in the production of NExBTL renewable diesel, the cleanest diesel in the world. NExBTL-diesel is the only renewable diesel in the world that is fully compatible with existing diesel engines and logistics systems. The use of NExBTL-diesel significantly reduces greenhouse gas and tailpipe emissions compared to even the best fossil fuels, thereby contributing to better air quality. Feedstock, to be used at the NExBTL renewable diesel plant, are animal fat, palm oil and other types of vegetable oils. When fully operational, the plant will employ around 100 people.

Neste Oil Corporation

Osmo Kammonen Senior Vice President, Communications

More information: Mr Jarmo Honkamaa, Deputy CEO and Executive Vice President, Renewable Fuels, tel. +358 10 458 4758

About Neste Oil

Neste Oil Corporation is a refining and marketing company concentrating on low-emission, high-quality traffic fuels. The company's strategy is based on growing both its oil refining and premium-quality renewable diesel businesses. Neste Oil's refineries are located in Porvoo and Naantali and have a combined crude oil refining capacity of approx. 260,000 barrels a day. The company had net sales of EUR 15 billion in 2008 and employs around 5,200 people. Neste Oil's share is listed on the NASDAQ OMX Helsinki. www.nesteoil.com.

About NExBTL renewable diesel

NExBTL renewable diesel is an advanced fuel, based on renewable raw materials, that performs more efficiently and has a lower level of environmental impact than fossil diesel or FAME-type biodiesel. Neste Oil requires its raw material suppliers to commit to responsible and sustainable production methods. Feedstock of this type ensures that NExBTL renewable diesel has a 40-60% lower level of greenhouse gas emissions over its entire lifecycle compared to fossil diesel. NExBTL renewable diesel can be blended with conventional diesel fuel or used as such, and it is suitable for all diesel engines.

This announcement was originally distributed by Hugin. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

Copyright Copyright Hugin AS 2009. All rights reserved.

SOURCE: Neste Oil Oy

= = =

From The Business Times, Singapore

Growing Market for Singapore Renewable Diesel Plant

By RONNIE LIM

OTHER investors may be scrapping their projects but it's flashing 'green' for Neste Oil's $2.4 billion investment in Singapore and Rotterdam. The Finnish giant is brimming with confidence about its two renewable-diesel refinery plants that cost $1.2 billion apiece and that will start operations in 2010 and 2011 respectively.

DOING THE SPADE WORK (From left) Mr Honkamaa, Mr Lim, Mr Lievonen and Neste Oil managing director Olli Virtas laying the foundation for Neste Oil's renewable diesel plant in Singapore

In fact, it is already considering adding second lines at both to produce either more renewable diesel, or even renewable jet fuel for aircraft.

'We have no other competitor in 2G, or second-generation, biodiesel manufacturing,' Matti Lievonen, Neste's president and CEO, told media after a foundation stone-laying ceremony at its Tuas site. The two plants, when completed, will make Neste - until now, mainly a traditional oil refiner - the leading global producer of renewable diesel.

Both plants are 'on schedule and on budget', he said. Financing is not an issue at all, as Neste has a credit line of 1.6 billion euros (S$3.1 billion) until 2011, plus it has over 500 million euros in cash flow from last year.

Besides, given growing environmental concerns, the European Union is expected to pass legislation enforcing greater use of such renewable fuels soon. 'This is the whole logic for our renewable diesel - a market which mandates use of biofuels,' said deputy CEO Jarmo Honkamaa.

After earlier targeting 5.75 per cent mandatory biofuel use by 2010, the latest EU directive is that measures must be taken by all member countries to replace a minimum 10 per cent of all transport fossil fuels (petrol and diesel) with biofuels by 2010.

The Neste officials said this in response to questions on whether today's low oil prices of around US$40 - which means that normal diesel is roughly half the price of biodiesel - would impact the economics of its Singapore and Rotterdam biodiesel investments.

Each plant will produce 800,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) of renewable diesel - the largest such facility in the world - from one million tpa of renewable materials comprising vegetable oils such as palm oil, animal fat or tallow.

Neste - which operates two crude-oil refineries in Porvoo and Naantali with a total capacity of 260,000 barrels - already has a 170,000 tpa biodiesel plant at Porvoo, and is set to start up a second biodiesel plant of similar scale there this July.

'Neste is sourcing its biodiesel raw materials like palm oil and tallow on a group-wide basis, and is in talks with suppliers, like for instance, for jatropha in Thailand,' Mr Honkamaa said. Depending on the costs, over half of each plant's raw materials can be palm oil, with the rest tallow, although the biofuel refineries are completely flexible in their feedstock mix.

Neste is already in talks with big oil companies to take biodiesel from its Singapore and Rotterdam plants. 'We don't see a challenge in (securing) markets, the challenge is more in raw materials,' Mr Honkamaa said.

Speaking at the ceremony, Trade & Industry Minister Lim Hng Kiang said that Neste's project 'affirms Singapore's position as a trusted business destination', adding that 'the outlook of the energy and chemicals industries remains positive'. Underlying this, he said, are two main factors: the increasing emphasis on addressing environmental challenges and the Asian growth story, especially in China and India, and increasingly, Asean.

A Stimulus Package for Renewable Energy Would Benefit Economy and Climate, Says German Study

Via Renewable Energy World:

by Jane Burgermeister, European Correspondent

Berlin, Germany [RenewableEnergyWorld.com
24 November 2008

The solution to the world's two biggest crisis -- the economic and the global warming crisis -- is exactly the same: a huge government investment plan in renewable energy will not only help kick start economies, but it will also help fight global warming, according to a report by Deutsche Bank

Faced with the worst economic crisis since 1931, governments in Germany and the UK as well as the US and China are planning to use deficit spending to avert a dramatic economic slowdown.

The study by Deutsche Asset Management (DeAM), a member of the Deutsche Bank group, argues that directing any stimulus package towards the renewable energy would benefit not just the economy by boosting jobs and growth but also accelerate the creation of a booming new clean tech industry, so helping to slash greenhouse gases.

Massive investment in renewable energy would also have the advantage of establishing energy independence for countries such as US, China, Germany and the UK from oil and gas imports from crisis-hit regions.

"The current crisis is making the necessity of tackling climate change an opportunity to stimulate growth through investment opportunities," said Mark Fulton, DeAM's Global Head of Climate Change Investment Research.

Investments in new improved energy efficiency technologies are especially likely to benefit recession-hit economies by reducing the burden of high fuel costs, the study argues.

Additional measures to stimulate investment in "green" infrastructure and industry, such as smart electricity grids, solar thermal and geothermal power plants, could pay dividends by creating jobs in long-term growth industries.

Investment in renewable energy would also help accelerate "grid parity," the point when electricity generated by solar, wind and other sources becomes cost competitive with power from conventional fossil fuels.

Though wind power in some locations is already cost competitive, government investment in renewable energy as part of a stimulus package would provide much needed funds to bring down the cost of all types of renewable energy.

Also, the Deutsche Bank experts are urging governments to change laws to help steer private investment into the clean energy.

Moreover, a recent report by Greenpeace in Germany and the European Renewable Energy Council (EREC) argues that investment in renewable energy would not represent an additional cost, but would pay for itself out of savings to be made on oil, coal and gas expenditures.

Furthermore, investment in clean energy would reduce the huge bill that the world is likely to have to face from damage caused by global warming in the future, which could be as high as 20 percent of the world's GDP a year, according to Greenpeace.

Sigmar Gabriel, Germany's Environment Minister, recently affirmed the government's commitment to the renewable energy sector, saying that 500,000 new jobs could be generated in the green sector by 2020 in Germany.

In spite of the government's pledge to support the green energy sector, few additional funds, however, were made available in this month's stimulus package from Berlin, which amounted to €50 billion [US $63.1 billion].

To succeed in the new energy revolution, analysts say the German government will have to reverse years of low investment in new renewable energy technology and energy efficiency research.

For example, the Technical University of Munich, one of Germany's leading universities with 22,000 students and 6,500 employees, spends only €10-15 million [US $12.6 to 19 million] out of a total budget of €769 million [US $971 million] on renewable energy research, which is furthermore, splintered over several institutes.

The German government's role in financing renewable energy projects is set to become all the more critical as banks are less likely to lend funds in the financial crisis.

The economic uncertainty is already clouding a series of renewable energy projects in Germany.

Doubts have grown over the Blackstone-financed project announced in July this year to build an offshore wind park of 80 wind turbines generating 400 megawatts (MW) of electricity off Helgoland by 2012, according to the German newspaper Handelsblatt. RenewableEnergyWorld.com's Eize de Vries alluded to that project last week in his story, 5-MW BARD Near-shore Wind Turbine Erected in Germany.

Capital from the private sector will be needed if the German government is to meet its ambitious target of building 10,000 MW of offshore wind power by 2020.

Building wind parks 20, 30 or even 40 kilometers off the north German coast and anchoring turbines 20 to 30 meters below the sea surface will require substantially more money than constructing equivalent wind parks on land. Without additional government funding, experts think the country's wind power plans could now have to be scaled back.

More crucially, Germany could fall behind in the race to create a thriving, strong new clean tech economy and an export world leader by the government's failure to include green energy funds in its stimulus package to revive the economy this month.

"Major investment in renewable power and energy efficiency could create an industry a 360 billion-dollar industry, provide half of the world's electricity, and reduce the hefty 18 trillion-dollar bill expected to for future fossil fuel costs, according to Oliver Schäfer from the EREC.

"Currently, the renewable energy market is worth US $70 billion and doubling in size every three years," he said. "The global market for renewable energy can grow at double digit rates until 2050, and overtake the size of today's fossil fuel industry.

Governments that include green energy incentives into their stimulus package will not only create jobs, stabilize the economy and protect the environment, but they will also help ensure that their country is well placed to come out of the recession as a world leader in green technology, which is set to dominate the energy market of the future.

With countries such as Germany and the UK so far having failed to seize the opportunities hidden in the current economic crisis, all eyes are on the US to see whether the new Obama administration grasps the chance to invest in green energy to revive the recession-hit economy and catapult America to the front of the world energy leaders.

Investing in Renewable Technologies

Via EE Times:

It was a good line, and it also happens to be true: "Moore's Law never mentioned anything about power efficiency," said Brian Halla, CEO of National Semiconductor during the Electronica exhibition. Halla was referring to the inherent power efficiency of analog technology over digital, hence its desirability as a basis for new energy-saving technologies.

Halla's contention may well turn out to be true, but semiconductor and related industries like LED manufacturers are now seeking to convert all the talk about "green" engineering into another kind of green. With much of the rest of their business going in the tank (National Semiconductor announced job cuts later in the week after Halla's appearance at the exhibit), chipmakers are looking for ways to build a sustainable business model around renewable technologies like power management components and systems as well as energy-harvesting modules.

A key concern for energy technology startups is the current credit squeeze. Some of the seed money and tax incentives will have to come from government to stimulate market growth, Carlo Bozotti, CEO of STMicroelectronics, asserted during what has become the French-Italian chip maker's standard pitch for green energy. "It's a matter of investment," Bozotti said.

Indeed, investment bankers prowled the halls at Electronica looking for companies with viable green technologies. John McManus, senior director of Chicago-based Lincoln International, a global investment bank that focuses on mid-sized acquisition and mergers, said his firm has already invested in green manufacturers like Power-One, a developer of power conversion and power management systems. McManus said his firm is preparing to launch a new energy practice, largely because business is booming.

Asked whether green investment would slow as oil prices decline steadily, perhaps eroding the fervor for renewable energy technologies, McManus was unequivocal. "Investment in green technologies is here to stay," he said, adding that declining oil prices are "not going to stop the installation of new solar farms" like the massive installations in Spain and new ones in the southwest United States.

Nevertheless, other market watchers see trouble ahead, especially for the solar market. "With the credit market crunch, who can get a loan to build solar plants?" concludes a new report released Nov. 18 by the Information Network.

The report noted that the thin-film solar panel market and the related equipment market soared earlier this year due to a shortage of polysilicon used to make solar-grade silicon wafers. With polysilicon again plentiful, spot prices for 6-inch solar wafers has declined $3.50 since September to $9. The price drop means manufacturers will likely switch from lower efficiency thin-film panels to silicon alternatives with conversion efficiency rates of more than 16 percent.

Robert Castellano, president of the market researcher added: "The surge in thin-film panels [earlier this year] was a result of a severe shortage of polysilicon wafers used to make high-efficiency solar panels. This factor, combined with macroeconomic factors will redirect the revenue stream for the industry in the near term, but its impact will last longer."

Nevertheless, semiconductor industry executives here said chip technology also could be leveraged to add intelligence to new components like sensors and LEDs along with the power grid, resulting in energy savings of as much as 25 percent, they claimed, while helping to reduce greenhouse emissions. A hot topic here was the emergence of LEDs as an energy-efficient lighting alternative. Applications range from architectural lighting to automobile daytime "running" lights.

Ruediger Mueller, CEO of Osram Optical Semiconductors, predicted that prices for chip-based LEDs will begin to drop as semiconductor economies of scale kick in. Lowering unit costs could help make LEDs and other applications like energy-harvesting wireless sensor networks ubiquitous, developers of the technologies predict.

Chip executives like Freescale's Rich Beyer contended at Electronica that analog chip technologies will allow system designers to integrate more functionality that can be leveraged to save energy and reduce CO₂ emissions. Predictably, Beyer and other chip executives dismissed the notion that added functionality will ultimately end up increasing power consumption.

Still, Mueller conceded that the constant addition of bells and whistles like car entertainment systems and the recharging of consumer electronic devices, not to mention power-hogging systems like large-screen displays, must be rethought.

"Is all the energy we consume really needed?" Mueller asked during a CEO roundtable.

Despite the enthusiasm, Lincoln International, which tracks the energy components market through its "Power Electronics Index," said the industry underperformed relative to the Standard & Poor's Index during Q3 08. The index declined 19.8 percent from the previous quarter, the firm said.

According to the index, Taiwan's Delta Electronics Inc. was the top performer among large companies based on its quarterly share price performance. New York-based Eaton Corp. registered the worst quarterly performance, Lincoln said.

- George Leopold, 20 November 2008

Israel and Korea to Boost Environmental Cooperation

Via Israel Ministry of Environmental Protection:

Israel Environmental Protection Minister Gideon Ezra and his Korean counterpart Environment Minister Lee Maanee signed a memorandum of understanding on bilateral environmental cooperation on November 12, 2008.

Under the agreement, the two countries will enhance cooperation on air pollution, climate change, biological diversity and sewage disposal and will promote exchanges between environmental experts.

Among the subjects discussed by the two ministries during Minister Lee Maanee’s visit to Israel were renewable energies and efficient use of water resources. The ministers called on professionals in their respective ministries to review possibilities for joint projects and continue coordination in international environmental forums.

Britain, Abu Dhabi sign clean energy agreement

Via New Energy World Network:

Britain, Abu Dhabi Sign Clean Energy Agreement 6th November 2008

Britain has teamed with the Gulf state of Abu Dhabi to secure a mix of reliable and green energy supplies for the UK and which could see hundreds of millions of pounds pumped into the green energy revolution.

The announcements were made during a visit to the Gulf by Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband.

They include a memorandum of understanding between the UK and Masdar (the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company) to develop renewable energy and low carbon technology such as wind, carbon capture and storage, as well as solar and marine energy.

The agreements form part of the UK’s efforts to diversify its energy supplies and tackle climate change by promoting a global move towards renewable and low carbon technology.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown said, ‘I applaud the vision and leadership which Masdar has shown in investing in the development and deployment of low carbon energy technologies. The UK looks forward to collaborating with Masdar through this agreement, bringing together the best of British and Abu Dhabi expertise for the benefit not only of our two peoples but for the world as a whole.’

Miliband added, ‘As every country tackles the twin challenges of energy security and climate change, both oil producing and oil consuming nations need to diversify our energy economies. Low carbon sources - from wind and solar through wave and tidal to carbon capture and storage - can provide a new engine of global economic growth. So this partnership represents a significant contribution to our sustainable prosperity.’

Dr Sultan Al Jaber, CEO, Masdar, said, ‘Securing a sustainable energy future is a challenge that requires the collaboration of governments, NGOs and corporations from around the world. This collaboration with the UK Government is very much in line with our leadership’s vision of cooperating with other governments and organizations from around the world.’

In January 2008, Abu Dhabi announced it would invest $15bn in Masdar, to work with a range renewable energy companies and utilities.

The deal included a £250m cleantech partnership between Qatar and the UK, to be run by the Carbon Trust.

6 November 2008
Copyright © 2008 newnet

Solar vendors strive to lower costs amid setbacks

Via EE Times Asia:

7 October 2008

Amid uncertain markets and policies, solar panel makers are gearing up factories with an objective of pulling down costs to a competitive level.

One market watcher said she will review her forecasts for solar panels according to the financial crisis in the U.S., along with uncertainty about renewal of federal tax credits and a pullback of major solar plans in Spain.

"Without incentives, we don't have a market," said Paula Mints, principal analyst, Navigant Consulting, speaking at a solar event sponsored by the IEEE.

Other speakers also gave their insights about a lack of federal funds for research in solar energy. Tim Anderson, associate dean of research at the University of Florida, said he hopes this scenario will change soon.

"The impact in the academic community is that no one goes to do research in photovoltaics because there's no funding available," he added. "But the promise of more money to come is out there, and people are adjusting to take advantage of this," he noted.

Expansion toward better cost
On the commercial level, a group of companies is expanding production of solar cells toward driving mainstream costs. "We're building the equivalent of a large scale nuclear power plant per year," said Richard Swanson, president of SunPower Corp., one of the top 10 solar panel makers.

SunPower has recently completed a second plant capable of employing 400,000 wafers a day and has plans for plants in Malaysia that will use as many as a million wafers a day. "We know how to produce panels that cost $1.50 per watt by 2012, and we have detailed quarterly plans to achieve it," said Swanson.

Startup Signet Solar shipped its first solar panels in October from a new factory in Germany that will be able to develop by early 2009 sufficient panels each year to generate up to 130MW. The company plans to set up another plant in India soon.

"I think you will see a trend toward large 10MW to 20MW solar installations which will be very efficient," said Rajeeva Lahri, chief executive, Signet.

Applied Materials is supplying equipment to Signet and a handful of other panel makers now ramping up large scale operations, said Mark Pinto, chief technology officer and manager, energy group, Applied.

Waiting for a good cause
"It took 20 years to get to the point where a solar factory could produce 10MW of capacity a year, but by 2010 we will see gigawatt factories," Pinto said. "We are no longer a factor of 10 away from competing energy sources, we are within a factor of two or less today," he added.

Pinto discussed the outlook for Applied and the solar business in a video interview with EE Times.

"Although production has been rising rapidly, panel prices have actually increased in the last six years from historic lows from 2001 to 2002," said Mints.

"This is a market that was unprofitable until 2004," she said. "You can't blame them to hope for profits. The industry was willing to sell at a loss to keep share," she added.

New trends
Meanwhile, new and promising technologies are emerging. Russ Jones, business development manager, Boeing's Spectrolab, described his company's solar concentrators. They use 500 times optics to create solar cells as small as 1sqcm. "Lab versions of the gallium arsenide cells have hit record efficiency levels up to 40.7 percent, nearly twice the level of most commercial cells shipping today," he said.

"We believe 50 percent efficiency of the solar cells can be met in the coming decade," he added. "We think we have an interesting new vector to help solar cells succeed," he noted.

James Gee, founder and chief scientists, Advent Solar shared insights about a new design for cells and modules his company will create starting next year according to a research he conducted while at Sandia National Labs. The Ventura modules employ a pre-patterned electrical circuit sheet on the back of the module rather that a wire grid on its front to reduce manufacturing time and raise cell efficiency.

"Free power has been thrown away due to non-optimal designs," said Gee. "It's time for a completely new process that gets around the current fundamental limitations," he added.

- Rick Merritt

Trends For Mega Cities Like Seoul

Source: Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft (2008, September 1). Trends For Mega Cities Like Seoul. ScienceDaily.
Retrieved 2 September, 2008

ScienceDaily (Sep. 1, 2008) — Seoul, the capital of South Korea, is a typical mega city: vast, pulsating, noisy and full of exhaust fumes. This is the setting in which Fraunhofer researchers are developing new building concepts and IT solutions that will save energy, cut pollution and make living in the city a more pleasant experience.

A Fraunhofer Representative Office will shortly be opened in Seoul to coordinate these projects.

Housing as far as the eye can see – Seoul is one of the world’s mega cities. South Korea’s capital city has undergone exponential growth over the past few decades: Its population has quadrupled in fifty years. Ten million people live within the city boundaries today. If the count is extended to cover the metropolitan region surrounding the city, it comes to over 20 million. The population growth has had a dramatic impact on the environment, bringing about a huge increase in traffic noise and air pollution.

Mayor Oh Se-hoon is no longer willing to stand by and watch this happen. If things go as he would like them to, Seoul will soon be a green city with clean air – a role model for other mega cities that are contending with similar problems. The city is investing in innovative technologies and building projects, and it is supported in its ambition by Fraunhofer, one of Europe’s largest research and development institutions. On September 3, a Fraunhofer Representative Office will be opened in Seoul to coordinate projects between the Fraunhofer Institutes and their Korean partners. One of its core activities will be to develop technological concepts that make life in tomorrow’s mega cities easier, kinder and more pleasent to the environment.

Trend 1: Using renewable energy sources

Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE in Freiburg are now developing an energy-efficient demonstration building on behalf of the city of Seoul. It will be designed to incorporate all the principles of modern energy-saving technology, and will be heated and cooled using sustainable energy sources.

“The building will show the population what kind of potential there is for using renewable energy. We are planning to build seminar rooms, research facilities and private dwellings that will demonstrate the technical possibilities for gaining energy from sustainable sources, but also for saving energy,” explains Professor Volker Wittwer, deputy director of the ISE. “We want to demonstrate that the zero-energy house is feasible, averaged out over the year, and that it is pleasant to live in: It will be equipped with the latest building technologies and integrated in the usual national power supply networks.” Construction work on the new building is to begin next year – in time for the annual convention of the mega city working group in Seoul. “Our goal is to produce an exemplary building that will provide an incentive for industry to invest in low-energy technology,” adds the researcher.

In the “zero-energy house” project, his team is contributing their know-how on the utilization of alternative energy sources such as sunlight, geothermal heat, or wind.

Trend 2: Energy efficiency and comfortableness

The quality of living can be improved even in existing buildings. In the spring of 2008, scientists from the Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics IBP in Holzkirchen signed a cooperation agreement with Samsung Engineering & Construction, one of the largest construction companies in Korea. “We are aiming to increase the comfort and energy efficiency of residential buildings,” reports IBP-reseacher Dr. Andreas Holm.

Over half the population of Korea today live in high-rise apartment blocks that were built in the last few decades. By German standards, these buildings are poorly insulated. The residents require a great deal of energy to heat or cool the rooms. Overheating in summer and the growth of fungus are also a problem.

The causes are now being systematically examined. By the end of this year, the researchers from Holzkirchen will have equipped 24 apartments in Seoul with sensors that monitor temperature and humidity 24 hours a day. With the aid of these readings, the experts can simulate the indoor climate and make recommendations on how to increase energy efficiency and comfort. “Our goal is to cut the loss of energy even further by using better-insulated windows and facades, at the same time creating a pleasant indoor climate for the residents without unnecessarily pushing up the costs. We are keeping the mass market in mind,” sums up institute director Professor Klaus Sedlbauer.

Trend 3: Acoustics

One highly critical research topic in Seoul is soundproofing. The traffic in the streets of the capital city produces an incessant background of noise, and the high-rise blocks are not well soundproofed. New laws are now to give the citizens more peace and quiet. A new regulation on reducing impact noise – which is incidentally far more stringent than the regulations applicable in Germany – has been in force since 2006. The acoustics experts from the Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics IBP in Stuttgart are now cooperating with Korean engineers to devise innovative, soundproof building materials. “We have developed a novel composite-based insulation system that meets the Korean requirements and opens up new prospects of high-quality soundproofing in Germany,” reports Dr. Philip Leistner, head of the acoustics department. “But when it comes to buildings, the interests of large Korean enterprises such as LG Chemicals and Samsung actually go a lot further than that. What they want to achieve are holistic, sustainable concepts for residential and working areas in buildings. This is one of the big issues for the future at Fraunhofer as well. And it applies not only to Korea and Germany, but all over the world.”

Trend 4: Citizen-friendly administration

Services for citizens is another area in which the city of Seoul plans to employ state-of-the-art technology in future. The objective is to make dealings with public authorities simpler, more convenient and less complex. “The National Information Agency NIA is developing special IT services for the government which will not only provide information and reproduce application procedures online, but will also directly involve the citizens themselves and accept their inquiries and reports,” explains Nils Barnickel of the Fraunhofer Institute for Open Communication Systems FOKUS. In collaboration with Korean IT experts he is currently planning a research project in the field of telephone-based e-government services.

The two sides have signed a memorandum of understanding in which they have agreed to develop a range of services for the mega city that will be similar to the planned service hotline in Europe. In future, all European citizens will be able to obtain comprehensive information and assistance in their dealings with public authorities, including the end-to-end handling of application procedures, simply by calling 115. Seoul would like to offer this attractive service to its own 20 million citizens.

---

Adapted from materials provided by Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, via AlphaGalileo.

Companies/Products to Track in Singapore and the Region

Work-in-Progress

Key Players/Partners for Process Water, Oil & Gas, Petrochemicals, Biofuels, Power Generation, Renewable Energy and Semiconductor Manufacturing.

Singapore:

Heaters -
Thermal & Process Services
Vatana Phaisal Engineering Co Ltd

Control & Electrics -
Bifold Fluid Power Ltd
Siemens Pte ltd
Singapore Valve & Fitting Pte Ltd
S.U.A Engineering Pte Ltd
Hydraulic Systems Pte Ltd
Allied Energy Systems Pte Ltd

Singapore Water Solutions Alliance [SWSA]
Salcon Water
Milton Roy Asia Pacific Pte Ltd
Ritz Pumps Pte Ltd
Schneider Electric Singapore Pte Ltd


Southeast Asia:

Indonesia -
Agung Sedaya Group
PT. Maruna Grahamineral


Malaysia -
Syarikat Steelcon Sdn Bhd



Northeast Asia:

Japan -

Mitsui & Co


Korea -



China -
Jiangsu Taihu Boiler Co Ltd

Plextronics Signs MOU to Supply Its Solar Cell Technology to Korean Manufacturing Company

Plextronics, Inc. announced today that it has signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Korea Parts & Fasteners (KPF) to create a research and development center for organic photovoltaic process development in Korea. The agreement specifies that Plextronics will focus on advancements in its active layer inks for solar cells and to provide certain baseline device and process technology to the new R&D facility, which will be built outside of Seoul.

Upon reaching a definitive agreement with Plextronics, KPF's role would be to develop advanced process technology using Plextronics' inks and device and process technology.

"Our strategy is to participate in R&D centers with manufacturing customers all over the world who we believe could be major manufacturers of OPV products," said Andy Hannah, CEO of Plextronics. "This venture with KPF is our first step in this strategy."

Jim Dietz, Vice President of Business Development at Plextronics, said, "We fully expect that the advancement of Plextronics' ink performance and design will help accelerate world-wide commercialization of OPV systems. That's very exciting for us and for our industry."

4th June 2008