December 29, 2003
MiBiz Network
By Tim Gwozdz

MUSKEGON - The new year should bring with it the first company to be incubated at the Michigan Alternative and Renewable Energy Center (MAREC).

MAREC Executive Director Dr. Imad Mahawili said he hopes to launch a company specializing in advanced chemical abatement technology during first quarter 2004.

The specific focus of the new firm will be the development of technology to aid in the destruction of hazardous chemicals emitted during the production of white light LEDs (light-emitting diodes).

White light LEDs are manufactured using a process in which yellow yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG) powder is applied to blue light diode chips to generate white light.

Mahawili explained that the materials used in the manufacture of these LEDs make production an environmentally sensitive process.

"When you make a white light LED, the byproduct is very hazardous chemicals that have to be destroyed. Most facilities now use natural gas burning flames to destroy them. We’re going to develop technology that will not use natural gas," said Mahawili.

A new company to be formed and launched in the MAREC incubator in first quarter 2004 will conduct MAREC’s chemical abatement technology research.

"I am in the process of raising money from California and Korea. The seed money will build the technology here. Once it is successful, we will launch it and spin it off here in Muskegon," Mahawili told MiBiz.

The research will be on the fast track, he added. "I’m hoping to get the company launched in first quarter 2004. Twelve months later we should have some prototypes."

Though the science of LED technology was perfected on U.S. soil, most LED manufacturing is done in Pacific Rim countries. As more commercial applications for white light LEDs emerge, the pace of manufacturing will increase. Those increases will provide an economic boost to the countries producing LEDs. Mahawili said the chemical abatement technology being perfected at MAREC will enable the center and West Michigan companies that pioneer the technology a chance to benefit from the strengthening Pacific Rim economies.

The future for white light LEDs looks bright. GE Global Research and a GE joint venture, GELcore LLC, are developing a patent pending phosphor as an alternative to the YAG-based materials. The practical application of white light LED technology is being explored by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.

Jerry Lee, an industry analyst for the Photonics Industry & Technology Development Association in Taiwan, stated that the world market for white light LEDs will reach $1 billion within the next five years.

According to experts, white light LEDs appear to be the most likely lighting source to replace incandescent lamps, halogen lamps, fluorescent lamps and cathode-ray lamps. LEDs also save energy. A 25-watt LED lamp with the efficiency of 30 lumens per watt can do the job of a 100-watt incandescent lamp with 15 lumens per watt.

The energy efficiency of LED technology is another reason Mahawili believes MAREC should explore the field further.
"This technology goes straight to the new energy efficiencies and environmental issues that are facing the world today. It is something that plays into our economy and ecology obligation," he said.

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This article appeared in the December 29, 2003 issue of MiBiz, read by upper management executives in West and Southwest Michigan. Print subscriptions are free to qualified individuals who do business in West and Southwest Michigan. For further information about MiBiz Network, visit www.mibiz.com.