MINSK, 20 September (BelTA) – There are plans to build a factory in Belarus to make silicon elements. The silicon elements will be used to assemble solar cells, Igor Voitov, Chairman of the State Science and Technology Committee of Belarus, told media on 20 September.
The business plan for the project is in development. The factory is expected to be built in Gomel Oblast. The full cycle of solar cell manufacturing will be mastered in Belarus starting with silicon elements and ending with the ready-made solar cells.
Igor Voitov said they were discussing 32 new projects with the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus. The projects are planned to be included into the national innovation development program for 2011-2015. Those are projects relating to the development of Earth remote sensing technologies, the creation of satellite platforms, the creation of a microelectronics base and so on, explained the official. The project to build the factory to make solar cells may become one of them.
The official said that in 2011 the share of innovative products in the total shipped products stood at 14.4% while the target had been set at 12-13%. In H1 2012 the figure reached 17.4% while the target stands at 13.5-14.5%. The share of innovation-active corporations totaled 22.7% in 2011, with the target at 20%. Over 500 corporations were innovation-active. They mainly specialized in industrial goods (82.2% of the total number of such corporations). In 2012 the share of innovation-active organizations is expected to make 25%.
