Singapore to build S$38.5m research centre for alternative fuel sources

Channel NewsAsia 26 Nov 07;

SINGAPORE : A $38.5m centre is being built in Singapore to develop energy systems using alternative sources like solar, wind and fuel cell technology.

The centre will also research on how alternative energy could supply a power grid.

Fusionopolis will be the headquarters for the Singapore Initiative in New Energy Technologies (SINERGY) Centre.

Due to open next year, the Centre will conduct research on how energy is collected and distributed, by using advanced infocomm technology.

The research is into alternative energy like fuel cells, bio-energy and the next generation of solar panels called solar PV.

Solar PV uses a low cost alternative to silicon and so it can be used for appliances like consumer products needing power - or bigger applications.

Associate Professor Ho Hiang Kwee, Programme Director, Energy Technology R&D Programme, A*STAR, says: "A lot of work has to be done still at the facilities like the SINERGY Centre. We hope that at some point of course the activities will then enable policy reforms and regulatory reforms to take place. We are interacting now with the Energy Market Authority, with Singapore Power Grid. These will be the important organisations to work with."

He adds that technology like solar PV gives Singapore the option whether it wants to hook up to a central power system in the future or chose local systems.

The SINERGY Centre has another testing facility on Jurong Island that will open in two years.

And the Centre will be involved in 10 projects which will share S$8 million in funding over the next three years. - AFP/ch

S'pore gets $46.5m lift for energy research
Tania Tan, Straits Times 27 Nov 07

GREEN energy research in Singapore received a $46.5 million boost yesterday with the establishment of a new centre dedicated to making energy systems work better.

The money includes $8 million worth of grants for 10 projects, which will also focus on beefing up Singapore's energy infrastructure.

The Singapore Initiatives in New Energy Technologies (Sinergy) Centre will help take research from 'lab to life', said Minister of State for Trade and Industry Lee Yi Shyan.

It will do this by transforming cutting-edge science into practical applications, for industries and households alike, he said,

Established by the Agency for Science, Technology and Research, the centre will focus on developing alternative energy technologies such as solar, wind and fuel cells.

Slated for completion in 2009, the $38.5 million government- funded centre will be located at both the Fusionopolis and Jurong Island, giving scientists easy access to real-time information as they run their experiments.

Researchers will look at taking full advantage of Singapore's expertise in infocommunications technologies by creating intelligent energy management systems.

'This is a critical investment in Singapore's overall energy research and development efforts, which will transform the way we interact with energy,' said Mr Lee.

Marrying infocomms and energy is a relatively new area of research, which requires innovation in a wide range of areas, including energy storage and distribution.

Ten projects, which will complement research at the Sinergy Centre, will be awarded $8 million in grants over a three-year period, he said.

Mr Lee was speaking at the opening of the inaugural United Kingdom-Singapore Workshop on Energy Technology at the Biopolis.

Held under the auspices of the three-year-old UK-Singapore science partnership, the one-day workshop brings together 12 leading energy experts from both countries, who will share their findings in green energy research.

R&D centre for clean energy launched
Sinergy Centre will be set up by A*STAR with $38.5m funding
Matthew Phan, Business Times 27 Nov 07;

SINGAPORE launched the region's first national R&D test-bedding infrastructure for clean energy solutions yesterday.

The Sinergy - or Singapore Initiatives in New Energy Technologies - Centre will be set up by the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) with some $38.5 million of funding.

Sinergy will initially focus on 'distributed energy and microgrid systems' - how to generate power from decentralised sources like solar, biomass, co-generation or other such plants, and link these distributed sources to users via a local electricity grid.

Speaking at the programme's launch at a UK-Singapore workshop on energy technology, Minister of State for Trade and Industry Lee Yi Shyan said the centre will demonstrate and speed up the commercialisation of 'near-market' energy solutions.

Researchers will obtain real-time information and better understand how to 'collectively harness' alternative energy sources, he said.

Current research efforts are disparate and focus on individual technologies, said Dr Ho Hiang Kwee, director of A*STAR's Energy Technology R&D programme. The new centre's aim is to connect various energy suppliers and buyers to learn how to optimise the use of energy within a system, he said.

'We are taking a systems approach rather than looking at particular devices - research towards the latter will still take place at research institutes, but we will bring them together at Sinergy,' he said.

Focusing on the microgrid allows Singapore to leverage strengths in infocomms such as in data security or using artificial intelligence to manage energy demand and supply, said Dr Ho.

Sinergy will be established in two locations. The first, by 2008, will be at Fusionopolis, where six of A*STAR's research institutes will be located.

The Fusionopolis centre will house the command and control facility, as well as a 'relatively small' microgrid facility to test portable power-generation systems.

A second site at Jurong Island will co-locate with A*STAR's Institute of Chemical and Engineering Sciences. To be ready by 2009, it will accommodate a 'bigger and more comprehensive microgrid system for testing larger distributed energy systems'.

To complement the centre's work, A*STAR has also called for research proposals in Intelligent Energy Distribution Systems.

It has already awarded $8 million to 10 projects in areas like planning and optimising microgrids, measurement and monitoring devices, and power storage.

Similar microgrid test-bedding centres exist in North America and Canada, but so far no commercial-scale project has been rolled out, said Dr Ho.