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Qarbotech is a startup company that has developed a sustainable and green process to produce carbon quantum dots (CQD) that can be used in various applications.
In the solar industry, CQD can increase the efficiency of solar cells by absorbing more solar energy to be converted into electrical energy.
Qarbotech is looking for partners and investors to work on developing a commercial CQD-enhanced solar cell for market adoption.
In reforestation, CQD can be used to help with the early growth stages of baby trees and enhance photosynthesis to capture more carbon dioxide.
In this episode of Climate Tech 100, Qarbotech CEO Chor Chee Hoe explains how Qarbotech is working on getting their CQD certified for various applications and exploring new areas of focus.
How did you and your team come up with inventing the green process for producing CQD, and what challenges did you face during the process?
Our Chief Scientist, Prof Dr Suraya has spent 20 years in the studies of carbon nanotubes and carbon nanomaterials.
Her understanding about the materials and her continuous quest to innovate a sustainable green process to produce carbon nanomaterials have contributed to the unique and novel production process of our carbon quantum dots.
Other colleagues in Qarbotech always say that she deserves a Nobel Prize for such invention.
The challenges that we faced is not about the production process.
What we faced is the challenge of application standards.
As the frontier, there is no specific standard that we can apply to or get our CQD certified for the different usages or applications.
For example, we have sent our CQD for various tests to prove that our CQD is safe and non-toxic.
We have even completed genotoxicity test and in vivo systemic toxicity studies.
All such tests are passed.
However, due to no specific standards of CQD in the agricultural application in Malaysia, we are not certified as organic or recognized under myGAP.
On top of that, our CQD can help trees to remove additional 25% to 30% of carbon dioxide from the air.
We have measured the assimilation rate of plants using our scientific Li-Cor photosynthesis system equipment.
However, no available standard that we can apply to get recognized nor any certification body can verify us on such CO2 additionalities.
Can you provide more details about how CQD is currently being used in agriculture to benefit farmers, and what specific advantages or results they can expect to see from implementing your technology?
Farmers are using our CQD solution (product name is Qarbogrow) to spray onto their crops.
Based on their data, the crop yield improvement can be as high as 60%.
This translates to potentially 60% extra income to smallholder farmers.
They love our products!
Not only that, the vegetables treated with Qarbogrow are more nutritious, with higher vitamins.
Scientifically, we are helping the farmers to optimize the sunlight and carbon dioxide intake by plants, because CQD helps their crops to photosynthesize more efficiently, therefore the plants absorb more sunlight and remove more carbon dioxide from the air.
What are the potential implications of using CQD in reforestation efforts?
We know that reforestation is not easy and we see the potential of our CQD in helping the early growth stages of baby trees.
Besides that, we could have more carbon capture by these trees through enhanced photosynthesis.
How can CQD be used to increase the efficiency of solar cells and how does this impact the renewable energy industry?
CQD is such an amazing material.
It has both electrical and optical properties.
In solar cells, CQD can help to absorb more solar energy, to be converted into electrical energy.
We have worked with another research team to prototype a dye sensitised solar cell (DSSC) enhanced with CQD.
The photon-to-current conversion efficiency of the DSSC with CQD has improved by about 70%!
The potential of CQD in solar seems huge. What kind of partners or investors are you looking to work together with?
As a startup, Qarbotech has very limited funding to work on the solar cell applications.
We are looking for corporates or manufacturers who are producing solar cells or dye sensitised solar cells to jointly develop a commercial CQD-enhanced solar cells for market adoption.
How scalable is the production of CQD and what are the limitations to its widespread use in these industries?
Our Chief Scientist Prof Dr Suraya is a chemical engineer and nanotechnologist.
She values safe, scalable and sustainable processes and our production processes are also very lean and scalable.
Moreover, CQD is nano-sized, which is really tiny and able to be produced in relatively smaller facilities.
CQD is carbon-based material, so it is inert and does not react with other compounds.
It is rather stable and does not have much limitations.
However, it is reactive to sunlight or any artificial lightings.
The limitation may be the over-exposure to sunlight which causes the changes in its properties.
How do you ensure the biocompatibility and safety of CQD in agricultural and environmental applications?
We have sent our CQD for various tests to prove that our CQD is safe and non-toxic.
We have completed in vitro genotoxicity test like bacterial reverse mutation test, and in vivo systemic toxicity studies like acute oral toxicity study.
All such tests are passed.
Moving forward, we are also fundraising to get our CQD to be certified as food grade, which means you can confidently drink our CQD solution directly.
Given that CQD has been shown to increase plant growth, have you explored the potential of using CQD in carbon capture and storage, and do you see any potential for CQD to help plants capture and store more carbon?
Yes, our CQD can help trees to remove additional 25% to 30% of carbon dioxide from the air.
We have measured the assimilation rate of plants using our scientific Li-Cor photosynthesis system equipment.
What are your plans for further developing and commercializing your technology in the reforestation and solar cell industries, and are there any specific areas of focus or new applications that Qarbotech is currently exploring?
For the reforestation, we are currently approaching Tropical Rainforest Conservation and Research Centre (TRCRC) and Sarawak Biodiversity Centre for some pilot projects.
Recently, we are also connected to MORFO, a startup who incorporates biological symbioses, drones, and AI technologies to sustainably reforest and fight against global warming.
For the solar cell industries, we are actively looking for potential partners and collaborators to bring our prototype to the next level.
Conclusion
To learn more about Qarbotech, visit https://www.qarbotech.com/.
