Life & Style | Gadgets & Tech
Clean energy is big business, too
German scientist seeks Dh40b investment for solar power project. If energy is big business, then clean energy is a much bigger business, not to mention a more profitable one.
- By Saifur Rahman, Business News Editor
- Published: 00:00 June 22, 2006
German scientist seeks Dh40b investment for solar power project.
If energy is big business, then clean energy is a much bigger business, not to mention a more profitable one. A new clean energy technology could crack seawater and separate hydrogen that will have zero emission, no pollution and no greenhouse effect while producing 2.7 times more energy per kilo than traditional means.
Then, why don't the Gulf countries shift to environmentally-friendly energy solutions from the current fossil fuel-powered mode?
This is not a million, but a billion dollar question. Whatever answer one might have, a German entrepreneur has come up with a solution that could be an eye-opener for the region's decision-makers.
Juergen Hermann is seeking Dh40 billion in investment for a solar power project in the UAE that, he says, will help the country to eventually generate as much as 40,000 megawatts of power - far more than the UAE's total demand.
He believes this giant electricity supply should be solely used to produce hydrogen.
The project, if implemented, will offer clean energy at a rate more than 20 per cent cheaper than petrol, without emissions and polluting the environment. "With a total investment of up to Dh40 billion, we can create a large solar field in the desert that could generate electricity of up to 40 gigawatts - far more than the country's current demand and future needs. "We all know that the world's fossil fuel is not going to last forever. But what are we really doing to safeguard not only the future of the Middle East, but also the rest of our planet?" Hermann asked.
"The energy needs of the developing world are growing by leaps and bounds and today's fuel cannot be the long-term answer. Through the use of latest US technology - I have been involved as scientist and Silicon Valley entrepreneur for years - the project will collect solar energy, crack water and separate hydrogen to be used for fuel, instead of fossil fuel."
Patented technology
Hermann and his partners in the US have patented the technology and are planning to implement this in the UAE through CleanWatts Co., which is in funding stage. The GCC, where oil and gas has traditionally been used to power the region's desalination and power plants, could also become a user and producer of solar electricity in the gigawatt scale and electrolysing hydrogen as alternative fuel. Hermann calls it solar fuel.
CleanWatts, he says, will crack seawater by electrolysis and separate hydrogen, which will burn back to water, having zero emission, no pollution and no greenhouse effect while producing 2.7 times more energy per kilo than the traditional means.
"The best resource this region has is the abundance of sunlight, seawater and unused land. Through the use of CleanWatts, we can generate clean solar energy that will power cars, vehicles, all modes of transportation, power plants, even airplanes and ensure utility," he said.
Total electricity production in the UAE increased from 45,119 million kilowatts per hour (kW/h) in 2002 to 48,163 kW/h in 2003, according to government statistics. Of this, 97 per cent is fuelled by gas and the remaining 3 per cent is produced by diesel.
The Dubai Government invested Dh20 billion in 40 years to bring up the power generation capacity to 3,833 MW and 61,478 million gallons of desalinated water per day (MIGD). Dubai Electricity and Water Authority ( Dewa) is set to invest another Dh20 billion in the next five years to more than double the production to 9,800 MW and 110 MIGD.
"We could start the project with as less as Dh400 million by forming a consortium to fund it, followed by an initial public offering that could raise Dh4 billion cash to launch the project," Hermann said.
Collecting free-of-cost sun rays, the so-called protons, and converting them into electrons, which is electricity, and doing this with a patented, proprietary, very low cost solar cell produced on a stainless steel roll similar to the printing of a newspaper, is the key technology Hermann is going to bring to the UAE, if supported.
"While current oil reserves could cater for another two or three billion people, our air will not cope with the increase in pollution. Not only will the climate change dramatically within the next 50 years we may also not be able to go outside and breathe clean air," he says.
As per Hermann's plan, a 40GW solar farm needs about 1000km2 of land. An electrolyser plant near the sea would turn the 40GW solar electricity into 4 million tons of hydrogen, which is equal to the energy generated by 16 billion litres of petrol. This would be enough to run 100,000 to 150,000 cars.
Today, 750 million cars, buses and trucks run on fossil fuel and consume about 60 per cent of the world's oil. Supplying 100,000 to 150,000 cars with Hydrogen instead would only be a beginning, but it would also be the start of the hydrogen and solar age.
"Frankly speaking, no other fuel can be produced so cheaply. Hydrogen is definitely a very competitive money maker compared to oil and gas. But best of all hydrogen burns back to water and is therefore the key to lower carbon emission," he says.
However, projects of such a magnitude cannot become successful without governmental support. Hermann is currently seeking government's support in terms of allocation of land and funds to build Solar-City, which will produce solar electricity in GW scale at less than 2 cents/kWh and a Hydrogen City that will electrolyse millions of tons of hydrogen from seawater, selling it as renewable solar fuel. Hermann estimates that in 10 years from now the two cities may generate more than Dh50 to 75 billion in revenue annually and create thousands of jobs.
"It is my aim to bring to the UAE the largest business opportunity since the discovery of oil!" Hermann says.
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