Leading Norwegian solar company Renewable Energy Corporation (REC), which is investing NOK 13 billion (S$ 3.2 billion) in the first phase of its world-class integrated solar manufacturing plant in Singapore, today signed a S$ 2 million R&D contract with the Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore (SERIS) to collaborate on industry-focused research. In the 2-year contract, REC aims to further enhance the efficiency of its silicon wafer solar cells with future-oriented processing technology and techniques together with the scientific support of SERIS. As a result of the technical innovations planned in this R&D project, REC also expects to achieve significant production cost reductions, which will help bring down solar module prices and speed up the development of solar markets in Asia and elsewhere.

"The government established SERIS to be a leading applied solar energy research institute which will catalyse the growth of the solar industry in Singapore. We are therefore pleased that SERIS will be undertaking this research collaboration in support of REC's manufacturing operations here. Such collaborations between industry and our publicly funded research institutes contribute to the development of Singapore as an innovation-driven economy," said Dr Beh Swan Gin, Managing Director of the Economic Development Board of Singapore (EDB).

SERIS, which focuses on reducing the cost of solar electricity by increasing efficiency, lowering material consumption, and optimising of manufacturing in solar cell technology, recently established state-of-the-art cleanroom laboratory facilities for silicon photovoltaics at the National University of Singapore campus (NUS). The institute will play a pivotal role in supporting the growing solar industry sector in Asia.