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Business
Sahara Sand To Be Used In Japanese, Algerian and Tunisian Solar Cell Project
Thursday, December 16, 2010
TOKYO - Japanese scientists are beginning research projects to extract silica from sand in the Sahara Desert that will be used to make solar batteries, in partnership with local organizations in Algeria and Tunisia, Nikkei reporterd today.
The effort grew out of the Sahara Solar Breeder Project, in which Hideomi Koinuma, a visiting professor at the University of Tokyo, plays a key role, according to the paper.
The abundant sunlight in both Algeria and Tunisia makes them good places for solar power generation, and plenty of sand from which to extract silicon. The researchers hope to mass-produce the key material used in solar cells at low cost.
"They aim to turn silica from sand into silicon of more than 99.9999% purity. Sand in the Sahara is well-suited for that because the sand has a high silica content and fewer impurities than sand from other places."
Organizations from Japan and Algeria have agreed on the joint research, which will run into 2015. Participants include the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the National Institute for Materials Science, the University of Tokyo, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Hirosaki University, the Algerian Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research and an Algerian university. JICA is expected to provide 300 million yen for the research, Nikkei said.
The University of Tokyo and others set up a foundation earlier this month to promote the effort, together with Tunisian entities from the public and private sectors.
Japanese scientists envision a large solar power plant in the Sahara Desert that can power seawater desalination equipment, and supply electricity to Europe through superconducting cables.
PanOrient News
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