State-run CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC,
Local demand for polycrystalline silicon -- a vital material used in manufacturing solar cells and semiconductors -- is estimated to reach 5,000 tonnes this year and rise to 11,000 tonnes in 2010, CPC vice president Arthur Kung (
Banking on this rapid growth in demand, the nation's largest oil refiner is considering building a polycrystalline silicon plant by using electricity generated from liquefied natural gas (LNG) cold energy, Kung said.
Production of polycrystalline silicon is energy-consuming, but CPC can supply the electricity by utilizing LNG cold energy from its Yongan LNG Receiving Terminal in Kaohsiung, he said.
LNG is kept at a temperature of minus 165?C, but this cold energy is generally wasted when the LNG is extracted for utilization. The use of LNG cold energy can bring substantial energy savings, cutting power consumption by 40 percent to 50 percent for air liquefaction and separation, 30 percent to 40 percent for liquefied carbonic acid and dry ice production and about 50 percent for cryogenic warehouses, according to a study conducted by the Japan Gas Association.
The terminal will be capable of generating 180 million kilowatt hour per year from LNG cold energy, Kung said.
Construction of a polycrystalline silicon plant would entail an investment of NT$10 billion, Kung said.
While the proposed construction plan awaits approval by the legislature, CPC is in talks with foreign manufacturers of polycrystalline silicon, including Hemlock Semiconductor Corp, Tokuyama Corp and Rec Group on potential technology transfers, Kung said.
The company aims to start mass production in 2011 with a capacity of 3,000 tonnes per year, Kung said.
Other environmentally friendly measures to explore new energy sources outlined by CPC yesterday include promoting the use of biodiesel.
Starting on July 27, the company will provide fuel containing 1 percent biodiesel at 82 CPC gas stations in Taoyuan and Chiayi counties. Next year, all CPC gas stations will supply the so-called B1 biodiesel, which will be further replaced by B2 biodiesel -- fuel that contains 2 percent biodiesel -- in 2010, Kung said.
CPC will also provide ethanol fuel at eight gas stations in Taipei for use in government officials' vehicles. The gasoline supplier aims to provide E3 ethanol gasoline -- gasoline blended with 3 percent ethanol -- at all CPC gas stations by 2011, he said.
The company plans to work with Taiwan Fertilizer Co (
Another renewable energy worth exploiting is hydrogen, the company said.
CPC has introduced the technology to convert natural gas to hydrogen, hoping to set up hydrogen stations for electric motor vehicles by 2013, Kung said.
Stephen Garrett, a 27-year-old graduate student, always thought he would study in China, but first the country’s restrictive COVID-19 policies made it nearly impossible and now he has other concerns. The cost is one deterrent, but Garrett is more worried about restrictions on academic freedom and the personal risk of being stranded in China. He is not alone. Only about 700 American students are studying at Chinese universities, down from a peak of nearly 25,000 a decade ago, while there are nearly 300,000 Chinese students at US schools. Some young Americans are discouraged from investing their time in China by what they see
MAJOR DROP: CEO Tim Cook, who is visiting Hanoi, pledged the firm was committed to Vietnam after its smartphone shipments declined 9.6% annually in the first quarter Apple Inc yesterday said it would increase spending on suppliers in Vietnam, a key production hub, as CEO Tim Cook arrived in the country for a two-day visit. The iPhone maker announced the news in a statement on its Web site, but gave no details of how much it would spend or where the money would go. Cook is expected to meet programmers, content creators and students during his visit, online newspaper VnExpress reported. The visit comes as US President Joe Biden’s administration seeks to ramp up Vietnam’s role in the global tech supply chain to reduce the US’ dependence on China. Images on
New apartments in Taiwan’s major cities are getting smaller, while old apartments are increasingly occupied by older people, many of whom live alone, government data showed. The phenomenon has to do with sharpening unaffordable property prices and an aging population, property brokers said. Apartments with one bedroom that are two years old or older have gained a noticeable presence in the nation’s six special municipalities as well as Hsinchu county and city in the past five years, Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房產集團) found, citing data from the government’s real-price transaction platform. In Taipei, apartments with one bedroom accounted for 19 percent of deals last
US CONSCULTANT: The US Department of Commerce’s Ursula Burns is a rarely seen US government consultant to be put forward to sit on the board, nominated as an independent director Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday nominated 10 candidates for its new board of directors, including Ursula Burns from the US Department of Commerce. It is rare that TSMC has nominated a US government consultant to sit on its board. Burns was nominated as one of seven independent directors. She is vice chair of the department’s Advisory Council on Supply Chain Competitiveness. Burns is to stand for election at TSMC’s annual shareholders’ meeting on June 4 along with the rest of the candidates. TSMC chairman Mark Liu (劉德音) was not on the list after in December last