Lee Li Ying, Channel NewsAsia 13 Jul 16;
SINGAPORE: The National Environment Agency (NEA) and Nanyang Technological University signed an agreement on Wednesday (July 13) to co-fund the development of a S$40 million waste-to-energy research facility.
This facility will be an open platform that will allow researchers and companies working on emerging waste-to-energy technologies to demonstrate and test-bed their projects, they said.
Possible projects include turning ash into slag, a glass-like material that could be used in construction. The facility also has a plug-and-play configuration that allows users to test multiple different technologies, they added.
Executive Director at NTU's Nanyang Environment and Water Research Institute Ng Wun Jern said this facility will help turn research findings into industry applications.
"You must understand that what you do in the lab is research, and research is still a long way from actual application. At the end of the day, we need to move research to engineering. So what this facility allows us to do is to address the engineering issues."
Mr Ronnie Tay, CEO of NEA, said: "We hope this facility will provide stakeholders such as research institutes, academia and industry with a platform to collaborate in and create more effective and sustainable waste management solutions through research, development, demonstration and test-bedding."
Construction of the facility will begin in Tuas early next year, and the facility is targeted to be commissioned by late 2018.
- CNA/kk
