A new solar-powered factory is molding plastic for local use at the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawai‘i Authority’s (NELHA) Hawaiʻi Ocean Science and Technology (HOST) park.
Built by LightManufacturing, Inc. (LMI) on NELHA’s coastal property in Kailua-Kona, Hawaiʻi, the solar-powered operation molded its first 290-gallon water tank in December, according to a press release by the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism.
“Large capacity, commercial-grade water storage and septic tanks in Hawai‘i are expensive for two reasons: The cost of expensive imported fossil fuels for traditional on-island molding, or the well-known costs to import bulky products from the mainland,” LightManufacturing, Inc. CEO Karl von Kries said in the press release. “By eliminating fossil fuels, we can reduce costs, massively improve sustainability and improve access for customers to critical products like water tanks."
Using large mirrors, LMI’s Solar Rotational Molding system captures 100,000 watts of raw solar heat to mold plastic, the press release reports.
NELHA’s Executive Director Gregory Barbour said this project is easily deployable in a small footprint.
“Its innovative use of solar heat through sunshine to manufacture important items locally addresses several ongoing Hawai’i Island waste and cost challenges,” Barbour said.
As one of NELHA’s tenants, LMI’s factory is contributing to NELHA’s focus on developing green economic projects, and is part of the largest diversified economic development project in the State, according to the press release.
“Manufacturing is critical to diversifying our economy away from its dependence on tourism and enhancing the resiliency of our islands,” Gov. David Ige said in the press release. “NELHA shows that government can create the conditions for innovative businesses to work with Hawaiʻi’s natural resources in a way that makes Hawaiʻi better. LightManufacturing’s innovation with solar energy to manufacture needed goods without having to ship them here and ultimately reduce waste is an important step along this transition.”
Eventually, LMI would like to use plastic gathered from the ocean and other places in its manufacturing process in an effort to sustainably source plastic and prevent more ending up in a landfill, according to the press release.
“We have some prototype solar-powered plastic recycling systems which show good promise,” von Kries said in the press release.