Channel NewsAsia: A*STAR and partners launch $38m smart grid research centre

 

The first experimental power grid research centre in Southeast Asia was launched in Singapore on July 16.

The $38 million project aims to be a development and test facility for smart grid solutions and is spearheaded by the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) and four industry partners.

Ground has been broken for a new smart grid research centre, as demand rises for such solutions.

The new Experimental Power Grid Centre (EPGC) is expected to spark new ideas and technologies, housing a power grid of 1 megawatt.

Companies will have access to the Centre in order to develop and test technologies and different power sources to see how they behave on a live grid.

"It is critical for the next phase of the power systems industry development, because a lot of these companies are in Singapore; it is required for us locally as well as for the potential for export, so what it could contribute to the economy is immense," said Low Teck Seng, deputy managing director of A*STAR.

Companies will also be plugging in to develop commercially-viable smart grid products.

For Singapore, the government said the new facility is also part of the nation's drive to be a smart energy economy.

Commenting on the R&D conducted at the centre, Associate Professor Ashwin Khambadkone, Programme Director, EPGC said, “Our activities will be positioned upstream, towards the research and development of new technologies with a view to commercialisation in the future. By leveraging on the wide spectrum of existing research capabilities across A*STAR’s research institutes, from materials engineering and packaging to infocomms, data communications, and high performance computing, the centre is able to accommodate a wide range of R&D activities in areas such as intelligent grids, integration of renewable power generation and vehicle to grid systems, and the development of new generation energy management systems.”

Dr Keith Carpenter, Executive Director of A*STAR’s Institute of Chemical and Engineering Sciences (ICES), where the facility is located, added, “The EPGC is proof of the Singapore government’s serious effort to contribute to the future of smart energy systems. Locating the facility at Jurong Island will not only spur research activities due to the proximity to available sources of energy such as natural gas and hydrogen, it will also complement ongoing research programmes at ICES on energy, including biofuels and solid oxide fuel cells.”

A*STAR aims to have 10 industry partners by the time the centre's construction is finished in 2011.

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