Gas conversion for clean fuels and value-added chemicals

(PhysOrg.com) -- The Institute of Chemical and Engineering Sciences (ICES), a research institute of The Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), and IHI Corporation (IHI) start their collaboration in areas of environmental and energy related technologies. A research collaboration agreement was signed by Dr. Keith Carpenter, Executive Director of ICES and Mr. Yoshio Kusaba, Associate Director & Deputy General Manager of IHI Corporate Research & Development.

With rising concerns about the supply and increasing cost of fossil resources and uncertainties in security of energy supplies, an efficient utilisation of unconventional fossil fuels and renewable resources such as biomass is required. In this collaborative research project, ICES and IHI will develop a catalytic process to convert the gas derived from these resources to value-added products such as biofuels and value added chemicals to be used as feedstock. Through the collaborative efforts, both organisations will pursue the ideas and verify the technology for commercial applications.

Mr. Lim Chuan Poh, Chairman, A*STAR commented, “This collaboration adds to the suite of initiatives offered by A*STAR to spearhead innovations in sustainable energy research.  IHI’s decision to partner with ICES is a strong endorsement of our R&D capabilities and talents.  We are confident that this partnership will spur breakthrough discoveries and valuable solutions.”

Dr. Keith Carpenter commented, “This project will bring added insight into gas conversion processes to complement our array of chemical approaches. It is a great opportunity to partner with IHI Corporation who has a long and successful history of bringing new inventions to the market. The collaboration combines ICES and IHI strengths in a new partnership in research and development. We will continue to leverage our unique combination of capabilities to pursue high-impact collaborations with industry.”

Mr. Kazuaki Kama, President of IHI Corporation, said, “We are pleased to start our partnership with one of the world-class scientific research organizations such as A*STAR. We believe that this collaboration will bring a vast potential to us in the field of the energy and environment related business. IHI has started the business collaboration in Singapore since 1963 in the field of shipbuilding. We will explore new opportunity for our research and development with A*STAR and we are very confident that our efforts will create the new mutual benefit.”

Mr. Yoshio Kusaba commented, “We are truly happy to start a collaborative research programme with ICES, a leading research institute in the chemical engineering field. We IHI have much experience in catalytic research and application for the denitrification and desulfurization process. I am confident that this collaboration with ICES will deliver new insight into the catalytic technology which will propel a new era of growth in the areas of developing cutting-edge approaches for green energy and fuels.”