Cambridge CARES continues decade-long collaboration with Singapore universities with two decarbonisation projects

• TheUniversity of Cambridge'sfirst overseas research centre (CARES) hosted Mr Heng Swee Keat, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the National Research Foundation (NRF) to view the centre's technical capabilities for decarbonisation research.
• Local and international partners will advance research on non-fossil fuel-based pathways forSingaporeindustries.

SINGAPORE,Dec. 5, 2024/PRNewswire/ -- The Cambridge Centre for Advanced Research and Education inSingapore(CARES) is hosting two projects under the newly launched CREATE Thematic Programme in Decarbonisation supported by the National Research Foundation (NRF). The two projects will investigate non-fossil fuel-based pathways forSingapore'schemical manufacturing industry and energy systems. The projects will advance new technology and ideas from existing work at CARES and aid inSingapore'sbusiness transition away from petrochemicals towards a net-zero emissions target by 2050.

Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the NRF, Mr Heng Swee Keat toured the first of three laboratories for the programme to view the technical capabilities required for the various project teams, including CARES'projects on the Sustainable Manufacture of Molecules and Materials inSingapore(SM₃), and Hydrogen and Ammonia Combustion inSingapore(HYCOMBS).

As part of the lab demonstrations on decarbonisation, CARES showcased an additional ongoing activity with City Energy investigating hydrogen-rich town gas for residential and commercial cooking stoves.

Prof.Alexei Lapkin(CARES), Prof.Chiba Shunsuke(NTU Singapore), Prof.Ning Yan(NUS), Assoc Prof.Ming Joo Koh(NUS), Dr.Philippe Schwaller(Swiss Federal Instituteof Technology Lausanne, EPFL), and Prof.Matthew Gaunt(University of Cambridge), Principal Investigators for SM₃, share a joint statement:

SM₃will provide a path to a net-zero, high-value chemical manufacturing industry inSingapore. Its core goal is to address the dependency of the producers of performance chemicals on starting materials that typically come from fossil-based carbon sources. The SM₃team will develop effective synthetic methods that best convert cheap and abundant fossil-free raw materials into high-value molecules. SM₃will transform the production of functional molecules, such as medicines and agrochemicals, creating a new value chain for the sustainable chemical industry.

Prof.Epaminondas Mastorakos(CARES), Prof. Fei Duan (NTU Singapore), Prof.Kaoru Maruta(Tohoku University), DrNabiha Chaumeix(CNRS France), Asst ProfZhang Huangwei(NUS), Principal Investigators for HYCOMBS, share a joint statement:

In the near future,Singaporemay adopt hydrogen or ammonia as a possible carbon-free fuel for decarbonisation; however, this requires the development of new gas turbines and internal combustion engines. In project HYCOMBS, universities fromSingapore, UK,Japan,FranceandNorwaywill work together to investigate the underlying combustion process of hydrogen and ammonia to minimise pollutants and accelerate industry innovation. We are grateful for the opportunity to work on this project that can transform how these zero-carbon fuels are utilised, benefiting Singaporeans and global environmental advancement.

Since 2013, CARES has been involved in research programmes with NTU and NUS as theUniversity of Cambridge'sfirst overseas centre. One of its early flagship programmes, the Centre for Carbon Reduction in Chemical Technologies (C4T), has investigated areas from sustainable reaction engineering, electrochemistry, and maritime decarbonisation, to digitalisation.

By building on this foundation and leveraging the local talent pool, CARES has attracted new partners from international universities and institutes for SM₃and HYCOMBS. This includes EPFL, theSwiss Federal Instituteof Technology Lausanne, which will provide skills in the domain AI for chemistry. CNRS, the French National Centre for Scientific Research, fromFrance, the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, and Tohoku University fromJapanwill contribute technical equipment and key talent in hydrogen and ammonia combustion. The connection with CNRS will be further strengthened through the presence inSingaporeof CNRS@CREATE - its only subsidiary abroad - which is part of the same CREATE research programme that CARES participates in.

Singapore'scompact, interconnected infrastructure, along with strong governmental support and initiatives such as the"Singapore Green Plan 2030"will provide an ideal base for rapid testing and knowledge transfer to industry. The international scope of SM₃and HYCOMBS positionsSingaporeas a central hub for sustainable technology development for the global economy.

View the media release by NRF on thelaunch of the SGD$90m Decarbonisation programmefor more information on the nine projects under CREATE's Decarbonisation Programme.

Annex A: Full list of PIs and their affiliated universities and/or institutions

About CARES

The Cambridge Centre for Advanced Research and Education (CARES) was established in 2013 as theUniversity of Cambridge'sfirst overseas research centre, bringing together researchers fromCambridge,Nanyang Technological University, and theNational University of Singaporeas part of the CREATE (Campus for Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise) programme. The flagship programme at CARES is the Centre for Carbon Reduction in Chemical Technology (C4T) programme which focused on decarbonisingSingapore'schemical industry and expanded in recent years to include additional themes such as digital transformation, and sectors such as the maritime industry.

A further large programme began inOctober 2020called the Centre for Lifelong Learning and Individualised Cognition (CLIC). CLIC brings together researchers from theUniversity of Cambridgeand NTU to focus on the science of learning. CARES is also a research partner in the Pharmaceutical Innovation Programme Singapore (PIPS), a public-private consortium that aims to develop full process automation in a laboratory to support R&D and manufacturing.

www.cares.cam.ac.uk   LinkedIn:Cambridge CARES

About CREATE (Campus for Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise)

CREATE is an international collaboratory housing research centres set up by top universities. At CREATE, researchers from diverse disciplines and backgrounds work closely together to perform cutting-edge research in strategic areas of interest, for translation into practical applications leading to positive economic and societal outcomes forSingapore. The interdisciplinary research centres at CREATE focus on four areas of interdisciplinary thematic areas of research, namely human systems, energy systems, environmental systems and urban systems.

More information on the CREATE programme can be obtained from www.create.edu.sg.

Annex A:Full list of PIs and their affiliated universities and/or institutions

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