A project to manufacture photovoltaic cells from sand

CAIRO – 3 July 2017: Minister of Military Production Mohamed El Assar announced on Sunday that the Ministry is conducting a feasibility study through a German consulting company for a project to manufacture photovoltaic (PV) cells from sand existing in abundance in Egypt.

PV cells convert sunlight directly into electricity. They are typically made of polycrystalline silicon formed of Quartzite, a type of quartz sandstone rock.

Assar revealed that the international energy expert Ibrahim Samak, would be part of the project’s team. Samak is the founder and general manager of Engco GmbH & Co. KG and Encgotec GmbH, engineering and consulting companies in Germany.

The Ministry has been collaborating with the private sector to execute several projectsaimed at producing PV cells from sand with a capacity of one gigawatt.

The announcement was made during the conference ‘Egyptian Women Can’ held to give the floor for Egyptian female experts living abroad to present their ideas to achieve economic, social, and scientific development.

Assar presented the Ministry’s achievements and listened to suggestions and proposals.