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24-05-2014, 09:17 AM
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$15m clean energy plant to help power JTC building
Published on May 24, 2014 1:28 AM
Power cell modules that will be used at Sinjia RTE Solution's new power plant. Sinjia Land chief executive Jeff Cheong (above) says the clean technology business would provide "recurring income, and a more consistent cashflow". -- PHOTO: SINJIA RTE SOLUTIONS
A NEW $15 million clean energy plant using technology hailed as possibly a world first and revolutionary will help power JTC Corp's CleanTech One building.
The fuel cell plant is the result of a tie-up between Singapore-listed Sinjia Land and home-grown research and development firm Real Time Engineering (RTE).
The joint venture firm, Sinjia RTE Solutions, is building the 1MW plant covering 400 sq m at the building's location in CleanTech Park in Jurong West.
The plant will start providing carbon-free electricity from hydrogen gas for CleanTech One's common areas by the end of July, Sinjia Land said yesterday. At maximum capacity, it can produce enough electricity to run about 1,000 air-conditioning units at the same time.
RTE founder Wong Song Yeng said at a media briefing yesterday that the plant may be the first of its kind in the world. "Fuel cell technology is not new, but up till now the high cost of extracting and purifying hydrogen for the generation of electric power has been a strong deterrent," he said.
Mr Wong said the plant uses a unique proprietary catalyst to extract hydrogen from water. He estimates this will reduce the cost of obtaining the gas by 90 per cent, compared with purchasing it commercially.
The spent catalyst can also be potentially recycled using biomass - biological material - to produce up to 90 barrels of crude oil derived from plant matter a day.
Sinjia RTE Solutions is also working to secure a number of clean energy deals with government-linked companies.
The move also marks Sinjia Land's first foray into clean technology, in a bid to diversify.
Chiefly a manufacturer of precision plastic and metal components when it first started, Sinjia Land sold its metals business in 2011, and went into property development at about that time. It then disposed its polymers business in China last year.
Sinjia Land chief executive Jeff Cheong said the decisions were partially due to the narrowing profit margins in the manufacturing sector.
"We are still looking at property... but the market now is not really the best time, whether in terms of land cost or sales... so we're looking for a balance," he added.
Mr Cheong also added that the income stream from property is by nature lumpy, and the clean technology business would provide "recurring income, and a more consistent cashflow". He expects clean energy technology to make up more than half of the company's turnover within the next three years.
Trading of Sinjia Land's shares was halted yesterday to announce the new plant. They closed flat at 20.5 cents on Thursday, the last day the shares traded.
TEE ZHUO
$15m clean energy plant to help power JTC building
Published on May 24, 2014 1:28 AM
Power cell modules that will be used at Sinjia RTE Solution's new power plant. Sinjia Land chief executive Jeff Cheong (above) says the clean technology business would provide "recurring income, and a more consistent cashflow". -- PHOTO: SINJIA RTE SOLUTIONS
A NEW $15 million clean energy plant using technology hailed as possibly a world first and revolutionary will help power JTC Corp's CleanTech One building.
The fuel cell plant is the result of a tie-up between Singapore-listed Sinjia Land and home-grown research and development firm Real Time Engineering (RTE).
The joint venture firm, Sinjia RTE Solutions, is building the 1MW plant covering 400 sq m at the building's location in CleanTech Park in Jurong West.
The plant will start providing carbon-free electricity from hydrogen gas for CleanTech One's common areas by the end of July, Sinjia Land said yesterday. At maximum capacity, it can produce enough electricity to run about 1,000 air-conditioning units at the same time.
RTE founder Wong Song Yeng said at a media briefing yesterday that the plant may be the first of its kind in the world. "Fuel cell technology is not new, but up till now the high cost of extracting and purifying hydrogen for the generation of electric power has been a strong deterrent," he said.
Mr Wong said the plant uses a unique proprietary catalyst to extract hydrogen from water. He estimates this will reduce the cost of obtaining the gas by 90 per cent, compared with purchasing it commercially.
The spent catalyst can also be potentially recycled using biomass - biological material - to produce up to 90 barrels of crude oil derived from plant matter a day.
Sinjia RTE Solutions is also working to secure a number of clean energy deals with government-linked companies.
The move also marks Sinjia Land's first foray into clean technology, in a bid to diversify.
Chiefly a manufacturer of precision plastic and metal components when it first started, Sinjia Land sold its metals business in 2011, and went into property development at about that time. It then disposed its polymers business in China last year.
Sinjia Land chief executive Jeff Cheong said the decisions were partially due to the narrowing profit margins in the manufacturing sector.
"We are still looking at property... but the market now is not really the best time, whether in terms of land cost or sales... so we're looking for a balance," he added.
Mr Cheong also added that the income stream from property is by nature lumpy, and the clean technology business would provide "recurring income, and a more consistent cashflow". He expects clean energy technology to make up more than half of the company's turnover within the next three years.
Trading of Sinjia Land's shares was halted yesterday to announce the new plant. They closed flat at 20.5 cents on Thursday, the last day the shares traded.
TEE ZHUO