Japan and United Arab Emirates Collaborating on Solar Thermal Energy Project

Cosmo Oil Co., a major Japanese petroleum distributor, and the Masdar-Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (MASDAR-ADFEC), a government-owned organization in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates, signed an agreement December 17, 2007, with the Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech) to collaborate on researching solar thermal energy technology. The three parties were represented at the Japanese prime minister's office with the presence of Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Crown Prince of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, Japan's Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, and ministers of both countries.

The Emirate of Abu Dhabi has been promoting its Masdar Initiative, a national project to research and develop alternative energies to replace oil, which has adopted solar thermal energy as one of the most important technologies to focus on. MASDAR-ADFEC and Cosmo Oil are splitting the project costs, while Tokyo Tech is responsible for providing the original technologies, technology transfer, and training.

The research collaboration aims to demonstrate solar tower beam-down technology, as proposed by Professor Yutaka Tamaura from the Research Center for Carbon Recycling & Energy at Tokyo Tech. The technology is expected to reduce the cost of electricity generation via solar power by offering lower cost for production and maintenance, as the receiver is placed on the ground. A 100-kilowatt beam-down pilot plant is scheduled to be built for a demonstration experiment in 2008. After evaluating the results, planning for a commercial plant will go ahead.

http://www.masdaruae.com/en/home/index.aspx
http://www.cosmo-oil.co.jp/eng/index.html

Posted: 2008/04/14 09:34:28 AM