Don't Let the Sun go Down!

7/31/2019 Don't Let the Sun go Down!

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B y r o r y C o e N

a country so rich in natural resources, Qatar has plenty o renew-

able energy potential as well. A 2002 study by Qatar University in-

dicated that the cost o electricity generation rom wind here with

all actors taken into consideration compares avourably with

that o ossil uels. However its the potential o the sun which has

scientists and engineers smitten with endeavour. Solar technology

is still in its inancy in terms o how it can be developed.

Qatar Solar Technologies (QSTec) is a joint venture between Qa-tar Foundation (70%), SolarWorld AG (29%) and the Qatar Devel-

opment Bank (1%). SolarWorld AG is a German solar company that

has developed proprietary technologies and has a strong research

and development background. The collaboration is ocused on pro-

viding a product which will complement Qatars natural energy re-

serves. Chairman and CEO o QSTec, Dr Khalid K Al-Hajri, spoke to

Qatar Today about what his organisation is trying to achieve.

The development o the solar industry in Qatar brings with it

tremendous opportunities. The growth in the demand or solar ap-

plications and technologies will continue to expand here, through

the region and the world whilst preserving our natural resources.

This new industry growth will ofer a wide range o research, in-

vestment, entrepreneurship and employment opportunities.

In line with the Qatar National Vision 2030, QSTec is develop-

ing a new industry or Qatar. A number o new jobs and business

opportunities within the local economy will be created and we will

provide new career paths in the solar energy sector or our youth,he added.

The science bit

Since the industry is still in its inancy stage, there is little doubt

that its a very technical and complex process. So what exactly is in-

volved in changing heat energy into an industrial raw material?

QSTec will use the Siemens Process to manuacture its polysili-

con. This process involves the chlorination o metallurgical grade

silicon (MG-Si) to produce TCS (Trichlorosilane). This is then re-

acted with hydrogen in high-temperature reactors to produce high

quality, solar grade polysilicon.

Basically QSTec will be puriying MG-Si to make polysilicon,

which is the key ingredient or producing the worlds most ecient

solar technologies such as cells, ingots, waers and solar modules,which are utilised by a wide variety o applications to capture the

energy rom the sun.

Initially, QSTec will produce 8,000 metric tonnes per year

(MTPY) o polysilicon, but it is designed to expand as demand

grows. This amount o polysilicon is enough to produce solar en-

ergy to power approximately 240,000 homes per year. Built on 1.2

million sq m o land in Ras Lafan Industrial City, the QSTec plant

can expand capacity to more than 45,000 MTPY and has been de-

signed to seamlessly incorporate ingots, waers, cells and module

manuacturing acilities.

MGSi is derived rom silicon the second most plentiul element

on earth ater oxygen and is used extensively in the aluminium

dont let

tHe sungo down!a siMple exaMple like a Morning sHower illustrates tHe iMpact of tHe qatari sun a colD tap

proDuces very Hot water. teMperatures coMe close to 50 Degrees celcius for MucH of tHe year anDtHis extreMe Brings witH it enorMous potential. qatar solar tecHnologies is in tHe Business

of Harnessing tHe suns rays to proDuce power for all purposes.


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and steel industries so it is a common

material.

Export potential

Can this technology complement Qatars

natural resources and become an attractive

export option or the Qatar economy?

QSTec will become Qatars newest en-ergy exporter, said Al-Hajri. In phase one,

we will sell polysilicon to our global cus-

tomers, which will then be manuactured

into solar energy products and technolo-

gies that will provide a sustainable source

o energy.

In subsequent phases, we will move

along the solar value chain and produce

these products in Qatar or use locally and

or export across the region and world.

QSTec is aiming to become a world leading

integrated solar company in much the same

way that Qatar has become a world leader

or LNG exports. The possibilities or solar

are many and we have only begun to scratch

the surace o what this technology can do,

he added.

Would polysilicon, solar panels and so-

lar power be efective in countries which

havent the same power rom the sun as Qa-tar? Can QSTec export their solar produce

to countries like the UK or China?

Surprisingly, the answer is yes. This is due

to the act that it is daylight and solar radia-

tion, and not heat, that makes solar energy

work most efectively. O course Qatar is

blessed with an abundance o sunshine so

modules here and in sunnier parts o Eu-

rope will produce more energy than in the

UK or China, but solar is still quite efec-

tive in these countries and it is an industry

which keeps growing. In the GCC, the ener-

gy payback time, which is the time that the

module must spend in the sun to produce

the same amount o energy that it took to

make it, is under 12 months. In the UK, this

energy payback time would be around two

to our years. In both cases the module will

continue to produce power or 25-30 years.

The expertise

Whilst there have always been extreme

temperatures in Qatar, solar technology is

certainly a new industry and brings with it

a resh learning curve. Other global compa-

nies involved in renewable energy resourc-

es have plenty o experience and intellec-

tual capital in store, so this is what QSTec is

leveraging, to not only catch up, but to also

start innovating itsel. With Qatar Founda-

tion backing the project, Qatars climate is

a very attractive playground or experts o


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the industry. Al-Hajri stresses that there

are still many Qataris who are pushing the

project along.

The global solar industry is enormous

and continues to grow exponentially, said

Al-Hajri. It experienced a huge surge in

demand in 2011 with global installations

increasing by 50% rom 2010. QSTec hiresexperts rom around the world, but a lot o

our senior proessional staf are rom Qatar

specically rom the oil, gas and chemical

industries. They have many transerrable

skills that are highly suitable to the solar

industry.

But what about the uture? I this proj-

ect is part o the 2030 vision, then there

must be some orm o sustainability in-

volved? How are QSTec inspiring the Qa-

tari youth to get involved in solar technol-

ogy, to innovate and help take this industry

to its apogee?

In December 2011, QSTec hosted the

worlds largest solar-powered boat at the

Pearl pier or its longest stopover during

its round-the-world voyage, said Al Hajri.

During that time, thousands o people

turned up to see the boat and learn about

solar energy. There were also visits romschool children as well as rom the Qatar

Scientic Club and the Qatar Chamber o

Commerce and Industry. This is just the

start or QSTec and in the uture you will

see a number o exciting awareness projects

and applications that really show the ben-

ets and potential uses o solar technolo-

gies. As a result o the boat coming to Doha,

many students approached us about team-

ing up on solar school projects and course

work. One student even wanted to build a

solar bus.

Research and developmentOne o QSTecs main objectives is to develop

and export technologies and patents. Qatar

has many advantages when it comes to re-

search and development, such as the sup-

port rom Qatar Foundation and the Qatar

National Research Fund (QNRF).

Right now, our attention is on construc-

tion o the polysilicon plant, said Al-Hajri/

Once the plant is operational we will look

to expand our research capabilities to im-

prove quality and eciencies. As we expand

along the solar value chain to make ingots,

waers, cells and solar modules we will in-crease our research areas. This is a high

technology business and to be a leader you

need to be researching new methods, tech-

niques and products.

The future

The polysilicon produced by QSTec will en-

able solar energy companies and organisa-

tions around the world to produce products

that reduce greenhouse gases, protect the

environment and provide clean renewable

energy. QSTec are also researching the pos-

sibilities or Qatars critical issues such as

air conditioning and water desalination.We have also been in discussion with

the World Cup 2022 committee, added

Al-Hajri. We hope to provide the stadia

and an zones with the solar solutions and

technologies to power the air conditioning.

As part o the bid, a test stadium was built

which successully used solar energy to

cool the stadium so this technology already

exists, but we see many opportunities to

urther develop it. This is a relatively new

segment o the industry, but Qatar is well

placed to become a leader

qatar is BlesseD witH an

aBunDance of sunsHine so

MoDules Here anD in sunnier

parts of europe will proDuceMore energy tHan in tHe uk or

cHina, But solar is still quite

effective in tHese countries

anD it is an inDustry wHicH

keeps growing.

dr khalid k al-hajri

chairman and ceo of qstec

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Don't Let the Sun go Down!