ALMUS International, a local producer of alternative energy products, is a step closer to facilitating sustainable energy with its unique conductive glass, manufactured in cooperation with a Japanese venture firm, the company said.

ALMUS International chairman and CEO Jang Yoon-hyun, a marketing expert who has worked at LG for 25 years, firmly believes that new, alternative and sustainable energy is crucial at such a time when energy consumption keeps growing while traditional forms of energy continue to be depleted.

Nano Technology Assorted glass, or NTA glass, is said to maintain the basic nature and characteristics of regular glass and is superior ― roughly one-twentieth the electric resistance ― to other types of conductive glass in the market, according to the company.

“Our glass boasts better conductibility than even copper itself,” said CEO Jang. “The glass itself essentially behaves like an electric wire.”

Due to its semi-conductive properties, NTA glass could be applied in areas such as photo catalysis, solar cells and storage batteries.

Currently, ALMUS International utilizes this technology the most in making electrode-metal compound paste, which is needed in various electronic components such as touch panels. However, it has so far been limited to just the pure forms of materials such as silver, copper, aluminum and other highly conductive metals that can rust and lose effectiveness over time, the company noted.

“If we blend the powder form of NTA glass into these metal pastes and apply heat, the glass will melt and behave as an adhesive,” CEO Jang added. “This will ultimately simplify the overall process, reduce costs and minimize the damage done to electronic components.”

The company has already successfully commercialized such paste for silver and copper not only in Korea, but also abroad in countries such as Japan and the United States.

The firm’s next goal is to incorporate NTA glass into dye-sensitized solar cells.

By Kim Joo-hyun

(jhk@heraldcorp.com)