$100m plant in Singapore makes clean energy greener

New Tuas facility will recycle industrial waste from solar-cell manufacturing
Dhevarajan Devadas Straits Times 2 Nov 10;

A NEW recycling plant that makes the production of solar cells even greener was opened yesterday.

The $100 million Tuas facility, set up by Norway's Metallkraft, is mainly to recycle material used at the world's biggest integrated solar cell complex, also in Tuas.

That $2.6 billion facility, set up by fellow Norwegian firm Renewable Energy Corp (REC), is due to be officially opened tomorrow.

The main function of Metallkraft's facility is to recycle REC's spent slurry, a liquid used to cut silicon wafers, which would otherwise become industrial waste. This recycling will be done without adding any chemicals or producing waste streams.

REC can then use the recycled slurry instead of fresh slurry.

Metallkraft said its proprietary process can recycle 100 per cent of spent slurry.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Metallkraft chief executive Gunnar Kulia said that Singapore was an excellent choice as a location for the plant.

'The Singapore Government has supported Metallkraft since day one. Singapore has a business-friendly environment, and establishes a framework that stimulates growth and development,' he said.

He also thanked the Economic Development Board (EDB) for its assistance, saying that it had been 'supportive and active' in the development of the plant.

Mr Liang Ting Wee, EDB's director of energy and chemicals, welcomed Metallkraft to 'leverage Singapore as a strategic base to grow and expand its businesses in the Asia-Pacific region'.

He added that Singapore aims to foster a strong support system for solar companies in various parts of the value chain, such as equipment and materials.

JTC Corporation's assistant chief executive and guest of honour, Mr David Tan, lauded Metallkraft for helping reduce the environmental impact of REC's manufacturing process by re-using what would otherwise be industrial waste.

He also spoke about how Singapore intends to grow its clean technology sector, with the Government having endorsed a $1 billion fund for the National Innovation Challenge.

'A significant portion of the funds will focus on the development of manpower and R&D capabilities. In so doing, we want to leverage on our capabilities in research and infrastructure to support companies in three ways: first, by creating a vibrant research ecosystem; second, by expanding and deepening our capabilities; and third, by shaping Singapore as a 'living laboratory'.'

Mr Tan added that the clean tech industry is expected to contribute about $3.4 billion to Singapore's GDP and employ 18,000 people by 2015.