The first South-east Asia advanced maritime energy test facility for research and development work in green ship and port technologies will be set up by the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in a joint fund with the Singapore Maritime Institute (SMI).
SMI Chairman Teo Siong Seng announced this today (Oct 23). The facility is expected to be ready by 2015.
According to a statement, the SMI will contribute S$4.7 million over the next 10 years, while NTU will provide S$3.4 million, with support from the industry.
Mr Teo said: “The establishment of the Maritime Energy Test Bed will help in the translation of innovative technologies from lab-scale to large-scale application where new technologies will be tested prior to sea trials.”
The new facility is built according to International Maritime Organisation (IMO) requirements, said Professor Chan Siew Hwa, Co-Director of ERI@N. It will also have a 1.5 megawatt diesel engine which can be modified to run on different fuels, as well as advanced equipment for research in energy storage, noise pollution and waste heat recovery.
“To develop new technologies for green ships and green ports, all aspects of energy usage have to be studied, from the type of fuel and its associated emissions issues, to the efficiency of engines and waste heat recovery systems,” said Prof Chan.
Maritime manpower training and development is also an important objective of the new facility as it will also be a platform to train PhD students and engineers, said MI@NTUexecutive director Lam Yen Chin.
“With the creation of new knowledge and green technologies, as well as skilled manpower, Singapore will be able to attract more business to the whole maritime value chain, ranging from local suppliers to shipyards and ports,” said Mr Lam.
“In addition to Singapore getting a share of the multi-billion dollar green shipping industry through R&D, this initiative will also help to promote Singapore’s international standing when it comes to environmental sustainability in the maritime industry.”
