On February 18th 2014, a highly successful Cambridge Centre for Carbon Reduction in Chemical Technologies (C4T) launch workshop was held in Singapore. It was attended by the Principal Investigators of all four C4T projects from Cambridge, NTU and NUS, along with other collaborating staff and students.
The morning session, held at the School of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering at NTU, was introduced by the CARES Director, Professor Markus Kraft. Professor Kraft gave an overview of CARES, C4T and the progress so far. Since the official start date of the programme in April 2013, a great deal of work has been done to ensure that the required infrastructure is in place to support the research. Recruitment of post-doctoral researchers and PhD students has begun and is ongoing. The CARES labs and offices in the CREATE Tower are being planned in preparation for a fit-out in late 2014. Professor Kraft’s presentation also linked the C4T programme into the broader Singaporean and global agendas around climate change and CO2 emissions, a theme that was returned to later in the morning by speakers from the NRF Energy Directorate and the National Climate Change Secretariat.
Dr Yeoh Lean Weng, Director of the Energy & Environment Research Directorate at the National Research Foundation, summarised the current priorities for Singapore in energy R&D. He noted that there was an important link between the work of C4T and NRF’s Energy National Innovation Challenge, which was planned to deliver in 2020. Dr Yeoh’s presentation was followed by a talk from Ms Wang Yujing from the National Climate Change Secretariat (NCCS), which gave helpful background on Singapore’s National Climate Change Strategy and related policy. Ms Wang highlighted the technology primers published by NCCS, which will shortly be enhanced by a series of technology roadmaps (including a roadmap for carbon capture, storage and utilisation).
Talks were given by four of the Cambridge Principal Investigators (Prof. John Dennis, Dr Adrian Fisher, Prof. Markus Kraft and Prof. Jan Macjieowski) to clarify the current research priorities in the IRPs. After lunch, the Principal Investigators from the three collaborating institutions (Cambridge, NTU and NUS) took part in workshop sessions to finalise short- and medium-term action plans for the research projects. In the final plenary session, hosted by NUS, each Cambridge Principal Investigator gave a short summary of the conclusion of their workshop session and outlined the next steps for their project.
The formal programme finished with an address by Dr Lim Khiang Wee, Executive Director of CREATE, who described NRF’s long-term vision for CARES as Cambridge’s home in Singapore. Dr Lim looked forward to a sustained engagement of NRF with Cambridge, via CARES and to the many benefits that such a partnership will bring to all parties. Prof. Kraft closed the workshop by thanking those who have given such support to CARES since its inauguration, particularly SCBE and ERI@N at NTU, NRF and NUS.
The day ended with a drinks reception and buffet dinner at the Sky Garden, the CREATE Tower. Conversations begun during the day continued with the pleasant backdrop of the Singapore skyline!
Since the workshop, a high level of collaborative interaction has been maintained between the Cambridge and Singaporean PIs and as a result speedy progress has continued.
