Taiwan Cement Group (TCG, 台泥) and the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI, 工研院) signed a letter of intent on Thursday to expand cooperation in developing clean energy businesses by integrating technology in research, development and mass production.
Under the agreement, signed by ITRI president Johnsee Lee (李鍾熙) and Taiwan Cement chairman Leslie Koo (辜成允), the two sides will focus on developing and producing carbon nanotube materials, energy storage and use systems for motor vehicles, as well as promoting energy conservation and carbon reduction services.
Lee said the collaboration with TCG would help E-One Moli Energy Corp (能元科技) — a subsidiary of TCG and a global lithium-ion battery developer and manufacturer — to assume a leadership role in the battery production sector.
Meanwhile, Koo said China Synthetic Rubber Corp (中國合成橡膠), another TCG subsidiary whose core business is manufacturing carbon black, might be transformed into a carbon nanotube manufacturer.
Koo said that carbon nanotubes cost up to US$2,000 per gram, while cement costs about NT$2,000 per tonne.
Therefore, he said, the group planned to acquire a US nanotechnology firm and work with local universities to produce integral materials commonly used by the 3C and optoelectronic industries.
RSS