This is one of the few examples in our portfolio where we are still looking for the problem.

We don’t use any catalysts and so on, so it’s a very pure material.

With n-Tec, we have a very good process for making multiwalled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with “arc technology.” In Norway, we have cheap hydroelectric power, so we can use electric arc technology to produce CNTs very strong particles. We are almost through the qualification procedures now, and we will be ready in 2013 to start supplying to that industry. Even more important are applications in the aerospace industry. Titanium is corrosion-resistant to sea water, so we see applications in the offshore oil and gas industry-a very, very important market. We have developed what we call “a near-net shape” production technology for making titanium components that reduces production costs approximately 50%, which is of significant interest to a number of industries. It requires a lot of machining, and there’s a lot of waste of material, which results in very expensive components. Titanium is an extremely interesting metal that is hampered by the difficulties in producing components. In materials, our biggest effort is in new methods to produce titanium components. And if we cut the cost of crystalline silicon another 50%, and we increase the efficiency, it will be extremely difficult to find alternatives to crystalline silicon. This kind of crystalline thin-film uses very little high-quality material. You need substrates, but if we can reuse the substrate up to, let’s say, 100 times, the price of the substrate is not so important. For instance, epitaxial growth is a way of doing that. To reduce the waste, it’s better to start with a gas instead of polysilicon and then make the wafer directly. When we analyze the value chain of producing cells, modules, and wafers, one of the most waste-creating steps is to use a wire saw. And then hopefully sometime in the future, we will add very specific elements such as plasmons. The first step, of course, is to use n-type instead of p-type wafers, and then we are looking at ways to increase efficiency by monocrystalline, high-efficiency, advanced cell production, and then come multi-junction cells. The more efficient a solar module is, the less area we need to cover to produce the same amount of energy. Everybody is working with cost reductions in all the parts of the production chain, but the effect of increased efficiency influences the cost of the total value chain, including installation. But the biggest challenge is to find ways of increasing the efficiency of silicon-based solar cells. The workhorse for solar energy today is based on silicon because it’s an abundant material and has very good effects. That has been my driving force, my passion.”

As a scientist, Bjørseth added, “The more I learned about technology, the more opportunities I saw and the stronger was my desire to take one of these opportunities and create something. “Materials is a foundation for almost everything we do in our company,” Bjørseth said, adding that Scatec group companies focus on titanium, carbon nanotubes, and rare earths. For Scatec, climate-neutral energy means solar power, offshore wind power, and thorium instead of uranium for power generation. When REC went public, Bjørseth sold his shares and recycled the proceeds, through Scatec, in new companies working with the latest technologies in renewable energy and advanced materials. In 1994, he set up ScanWafer, which produced multi-crystalline silicon wafers, and four other solar industry companies before merging these into REC-Renewable Energy Company. With a doctorate in physical chemistry from the University of Oslo, Alf Bjørseth was an associate professor at two Norwegian universities before moving to contract research organizations in Norway and the United States, and then to Norsk Hydro and Elkem in Norway.

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