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The Clean Energy Programme Office (CEPO) launched the $50M Clean Energy Research Programme (CERP) today to accelerate research and development efforts to support the growth of the Clean Energy industry in Singapore. CERP is a competitive funding initiative for Clean Energy R&D, aimed at supporting both upstream and downstream interdisciplinary and commercially-relevant R&D efforts through a project funding approach.
This programme follows on the announcement in March 2007 by the Research, Innovation and Enterprise Council (RIEC) chaired by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong that Singapore will pursue the Clean Energy initiative, with an emphasis on solar energy, as a key growth area. CEPO targets the clean energy industry to contribute S$1.7 billion to the GDP and create 7,000 jobs by 2015.
Clean Energy Research Programme (CERP)
CERP aims to kick start the R&D activities in Clean Energy in Singapore. R&D proposals will be received through calls for proposals in specific themes identified by CEPO (top-down approach) or in open-theme calls (bottom-up approach). This programme will be instrumental in helping to develop the technological capabilities needed to accelerate the growth of the Clean Energy industry in Singapore.
Under this programme, Singapore-based local and foreign R&D organisations, including institutes of higher learning (IHLs), public sector agencies, private sector companies and not-for-profit research laboratories are encouraged to bid competitively for the research funding.
Funding Support
CERP provides funding to both the industry and academic/research communities for basic and applied research projects which pursue innovative and novel ideas. These projects would need to have potential for commercialization of the new processes, technologies or products.
Funding of $50 million over the next five years has been earmarked for this initiative and would provide grants to share project costs such as manpower, training, equipment investment and professional services costs. The public sector will qualify for full support of approved qualifying costs, while private sector companies and for-profit research entities will be eligible for up to 70% of approved qualifying costs of a project.
Call for Proposals
Each year, CEPO will issue two calls for proposals on identified research areas. While the inaugural call which begins this Friday, 2 November 2007, is only open to proposals in the solar domain, subsequent calls may include other Clean Energy focus areas, including fuel cells, wind and hydro-related systems. For more details and to download the Request-For-Proposal (RFP), please log on to https://rita.nrf.gov.sg/cerp.
Executive Director for CEPO and Managing Director of EDB, Mr Ko Kheng Hwa said, “Technology Development is a key driver for Singapore’s push into the Clean Energy industry. The Clean Energy Research Programme represents a strong commitment by the government to boost the research community in this industry and will be instrumental in raising the level of R&D capabilities in both the public and private sectors.”
QUOTES
Dr Stephen Wittkopf, Department of Architecture, National University of Singapore (NUS) : "There is much potential for research in niche Clean Energy areas like Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV) that are optimised for our climatic conditions. Internationally, more than 50% of all PV panels produced are integrated into Buildings, and this number is expected to be much higher in built-up tropical countries such as Singapore. R&D is the first step in finding commercially relevant solutions that can be exported from Singapore. This announcement from the government will go a long way in supporting the efforts of the research community here."
Derek Djeu, Managing Director, Solar 2D, a Singapore-based solar start-up: "We are excited by this announcement from the Government which is timely support for smaller companies like Solar-2D. We share the view that technology development is key to the success of this industry. Solar-2D conducts ongoing research in thin films and fluorescent coatings aimed at increasing the efficiency of Photovoltaic modules and we've seen some very promising results. Added support for corporate R&D efforts from the government is great news indeed!"
ABOUT CLEAN ENERGY PROGRAMME OFFICE
The CLEAN ENERGY PROGRAMME OFFICE (CEPO) is Singapore’s key inter-agency workgroup responsible for planning and executing strategies to develop Singapore into a Global Clean Energy Hub where clean energy products and solutions are developed here and exported globally.
Set up in April 2007, CEPO leverages upon the strengths of various government agencies - the Economic Development Board (EDB), Building & Construction Authority (BCA), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*Star), Energy Market Authority (EMA), National Environment Agency (NEA), International Enterprise Singapore (IE Singapore) and Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) for a comprehensive approach to develop the clean energy industry.
Through the various agencies, CEPO grows and nurtures local and foreign Clean Energy companies through comprehensive cluster development, targeted internationalisation efforts, fostering of world-class research and technology development, and long-term manpower planning.
For media enquiries, please contact:
Mr Alex Tan
Marketing Communications
Economic Development Board
Tel: (65) 6832-6284
Mobile: (65) 9841-0392
Email: Alex_Tan@edb.gov.sg
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