Hothouse Alternatives

This article was written by Sara Chuang and published by the Taiwan Review on April 1, 2006. It features Taiwan's energy research and development.

Taiwan relies on imports for more than 98 percent of its energy. Since the 1990s, the government has been promoting energy research at several universities. This article introduces several significant achievements in this regard. For example, the New Energy Research Center at the National Taiwan University focuses on research that can be applied to household usage. Its integral-type solar-assisted heat pump water heater uses solar energy to heat water. The system is currently used by several high schools, universities and hospitals and has reduced their energy costs by up to 40 percent.

The New Energy Research Center also aims to optimize existing energy systems and reduce manufacturing costs by making such systems multifunctional. For instance, the brightest light emitting display (LED) streetlight in the world currently gives of 3,600 lumens and is powered by only 100 watts. Researchers at the New Energy Research Center applied loop heat pipe technology - a heat transfer device used in satellites and space shuttles - to LED lights and effectively lowered their temperature. These hybrid lights use as low as 50 percent less electricity and are environmentally friendly because they do not contain mercury. They can also be applied to general household electric appliances, such as refrigerators, flat-screen TVs and computers.

Meanwhile, the Energy Technology and Management Research Center at the National Chiao Tung University focuses on technologies that save energy for the air conditioning systems in the clean rooms of semiconductor manufacturers. Research has been done on cooling processes for 12-inch wafer production, and on low and room-temperature semiconductor manufacturing processes. So far, the Energy Technology and Management Research Center has developed a highly efficient scroll compressor for air-cooling. It has also conducted a wide range of studies on flow and temperature fields in clean room ventilation systems.

The Energy Technology and Management Research Center's research further extends to bioconversion energy. "Bioconversion" refers to the process by which biogas (such as methane) is derived from the fermentation of biodegradable wastes. The process is popular because it turns waste into electricity, reduces the volume of waste and removes toxic matter from it. On the one hand, if biogas is purfied to pipeline quality, then it can be used just like natural gas in electricity production and space, water and process heating. On the other hand, if biogas is compressed, then it can replace compressed natural gas for use in vehicles to fuel internal combustion engines or fuel cells.

The Energy Technology and Management Research Center's current plan is to utilize biogas for hydrogen fuel cells. In contrast, the Center for Energy Research at the National Central University is keen on educating the public about the scarcity of energy in Taiwan. Because Taiwan lacks not only natural resources, but also professionals who are devoted to energy research and development, the center has drafted a proposal for an energy professional cultivation plan. It aims to coordinate scholars from related disciplines and build a diversified teaching platform in order to attract more young people.

Finally, the Innovative Energy Technology Division under the Industrial Technology Research Institute has been focusing on research about hydrogen-powered fuel cells since 2001. Its emphasis is on proton exchange membrane fuel cells, such as 3-kilowatt glass fuel cell power systems, which are suitable for the average energy consumption of most Taiwanese households. It is expected that Taiwan will be able to mass produce such fuel cells by as early as 2015.

More details about Taiwan's achievements in energy research and development are provided in this article.