The atomic physicist-turned-solar expert has been entrusted by the Economic Development Board (EDB) to direct the country's first research institute dedicated to solar energy.

The task comes with $130 million of seed money to kick-start work at the organisation, the Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore, or Seris.

Given that the industry is poised to be one of Singapore's largest growth engines of the future, the chief executive's job is challenging, to say the least.

Taxpayers, however, can rest easy. Prof Luther, 67, boasts strong credentials, with 13 years under his belt as director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems, Europe's leading research and development centre.

Under his watch, the institute helped drive down the cost of solar power by a third over the last 10 years.

Prof Luther recently relocated to Singapore with his biologist wife, Professor Sigrid Jannsen.

He gives an insight into what lies ahead for the institute, which began operations last month:

What is your vision and direction for the institute?

It will primarily conduct industry-oriented and user-inspired basic research in solar energy.

The EDB set up the institute because a lot of solar firms have been attracted to Singapore. If you have the industry in place, you need some research and development (R&D) to make the processes more effective.

Our Holy Grail is to bring down the cost of solar energy. This will change the way energy is used in this country and all over the world.

We also hope to invent new solar technologies that may enter the market in five years' time. We will be a conveyer belt between the pure academic field and the industry. We also hope to work with start-ups on new ideas and help them turn these into a commercial product or service.

How will your institute stand out from other R&D institutes?

One advantage we have is that we will have a high concentration of solar firms soon, and this makes collaboration easy.

Obviously, at the beginning, we cannot be like Europe's Fraunhofer, but we have some experienced people - and we're looking for more of such people - so that the creative atmosphere here will be pretty good.

Also, we are in the tropics, and there are few solar energy institutes in this region. So we will specialise in solar technology to be applied in this climate. This includes testing and developing new devices and technologies.

How will you achieve your goals?

We won't just try to catch up. We will surpass the current standards with the right strategy and staff.

We also have a dedicated Government here, and a good amount of money to start with. I would say Singapore means business, and this is an advantage we can build on. With the right infrastructure and environment, I'm quite sure we'll be an important player quite soon.

How different is the application of solar energy in Europe compared to Singapore?

Humidity is the main difference, and high-quality modules can withstand this climate, but the key issue is to bring the cost down.

The ideal situation is to have one solution that works all over the world because of mass production, but we'll have to work on this.

Given there are already established leaders, such as in Japan and Germany, can Singapore ever catch up?

Yes, we can. What we must not do is to reinvent the the same wheel.

My strategy now is to set up strong collaborations with excellent solar research institutes worldwide and identify win-win situations where it makes sense to cooperate, channel in the know-how as fast as possible, and then establish good cooperation. This is the way we can catch up swiftly.

What can we see from the institute in the short term?

We will have a permanent location of 3,000 sq m of laboratory and office space by year end. Our labs will be up and running by then, and our staff strength will grow from eight now to at least 30.

Why did you decide to relocate to Singapore?

In Germany, I had to retire at 65. That was fine with me, but I love challenges, and like to create things, get things moving. So when this offer came from Singapore, it was very attractive. I've visited before and thought, 'Why not?'

With $130 million for five years, we can do something reasonable.

jcheam@sph.com.sg