Research funding of up to $15 million available over 5 years

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) and Nanyang Technological University (NTU) jointly launched the Maritime Clean Energy Research Programme (MCERP) today, through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed by MPA Chief Executive Mr Lam Yi Young and NTU Provost Professor Bertil Andersson.

MCERP will focus on research platforms that promote green, carbon-neutral, energy management solutions. The research will be conducted through the Centre for Maritime Energy Research (CMER), a new centre under the Energy Research Institute at NTU (ERI@N). The programme will leverage activities within other centres in ERI@N and target to develop system-level solutions in the green shipping and green port domain.

Co-funded by MPA's Maritime Innovation and Technology (MINT) Fund and NTU, research grants of up to $8 million and $2 million will be contributed by MPA and NTU respectively over a five-year period. MPA and NTU will also work towards securing industry co-funding of up to $5 million.

The first Call for Proposals for the MCERP research grant opens today, and applicants are encouraged to work out the proposals in consultation with maritime companies. The evaluation panel will constitute members from NTU, MPA and members of the maritime industry.

Said Mr Lam Yi Young, "Through the MINT Fund, MPA has been actively supporting R&D and test-bedding of maritime technologies by universities, research institutes and companies in Singapore. Two core areas under the MINT Fund are clean energy and environment technology. The Maritime Clean Energy Research Programme comes under these areas and will help in the development of technologies toward greener shipping and port management."

Professor Bertil Andersson added, "Environmental issues in the shipping / maritime industry are fast gaining prominence with increased awareness of the environmental footprints caused by shipping activities. In line with one of NTU's Five Peaks of Excellence, Sustainable Earth, the programme we are launching today is timely and I applaud this opportunity to partner with the MPA, with ship builders and owners, ship operators, technology solutions providers, and classification societies to address the rapidly growing, global energy concerns related to ports and shipping."

In conjunction with the MCERP, Mr Lam Yi Young and Professor Bertil Andersson also witnessed the signing of an MOU and Letter of Intent between NTU and six industry partners who have expressed intent to explore collaborations with ERI@N'sCentre for Maritime Energy Research. The five MOU partners are: American Bureau of Shipping, APL Co. Pte Ltd, DNV Pte Ltd, Keppel Offshore and Marine Technology Centre Pte Ltd and Sembcorp Marine Ltd. The Letter of Intent was signed by Rolls-Royce Singapore Pte Ltd.

End of release.

About the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA)
The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) was established on 2 February 1996 with the mission to develop Singapore as a premier global hub port and international maritime centre (IMC), and to advance and safeguard Singapore's strategic maritime interests. MPA is the driving force behind Singapore's port and maritime development, taking on the roles of Port Authority, Port Regulator, Port Planner, IMC Champion, and National Maritime Representative. MPA partners the industry and other agencies to enhance safety, security and environmental protection in our port waters, facilitate port operations and growth, grow the cluster of maritime ancillary services, and promote maritime R&D and manpower development.
 

About Nanyang Technological University
Nanyang Technological University (NTU) is a research-intensive university ranked among the world's top 100 universities. The Yunnan Garden campus, NTU's main campus, is located in the south-western part of Singapore and will be the Youth Olympic Village of the inaugural Youth Olympic Games in 2010. The NTU@one-north campus, home to educational and alumni clubhouse facilities, is located near Singapore's biomedical research hub, Biopolis; and the new engineering and physical sciences hub, Fusionopolis.

NTU has four colleges, namely:
- The Nanyang Business School (the College of Business), the first and only Singapore business school to be ranked in the top 25 of the Financial Times Global MBA 2008 rankings
- The College of Engineering, with six schools focused on technology and innovation and a research output among the top four in the world
- The College of Humanities, Arts, & Social Sciences, home to Singapore's first professional art school offering degree courses in art, design and interactive digital media; the Humanities and Social Science School; and the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information, a top journalism and media school in Asia
- The College of Science is home to award-winning faculty, world-class laboratories, and Olympiad medal winners

The S Rajaratnam School of International Studies, one of three autonomous institutes of NTU, is a world authority on strategic studies and security research. NTU is also home to the internationally-acclaimed National Institute of Education, Singapore's only teacher-training institute. The Earth Observatory of Singapore, established in 2009 with $150 million in state funding, is dedicated to hazards-related earth science.

As Singapore's main science and technology university, NTU makes significant contributions to the nation's renewed drive for research and innovation spearheaded by the Singapore National Research Foundation (NRF). NTU's strengths in biomedical sciences, environmental and water technologies, and interactive and digital media mirror the NRF's research focus. Impressed by the vibrant entrepreneurship environment at NTU, the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, widely known as 'The Foundation of Entrepreneurship', has chosen NTU to be the first Kauffman campus outside the United States of America.

NTU has a strong and broad international reach covering academic and research partnerships with top institutions in the US, Europe and Asia, such as MIT, Stanford University, Cornell University, Caltech, University of Washington, Georgia Institute of Technology, and Carnegie Mellon University; Cambridge University, Imperial College and Swiss Federal Institute of Technology; and Peking University, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Waseda University, and Indian Institute of Technology.
For more information, visit www.ntu.edu.sg