Singapore has unveiled its largest funding initiative to date aimed at developing its bioeconomy sector, with the establishment of the Bioeconomy Funding Initiative.
Backed by S$118m ($92m) of public finance, the initiative is part of the S$37bn ($29bn) Research, Innovation, Enterprise 2030 plan focused on addressing challenges to Singapore’s energy and chemical sector. These sectors account for one-fifth of the island city state’s domestic manufacturing output.
The Bioeconomy Funding Initiative has two key objectives, plus plans for capability building and translational research in four focus areas. The objectives are to strengthen Singapore’s global bioeconomy presence by positioning Singapore as a credible and global innovation hub for bioeconomy related research, and to translate the funded research into commercial relevance, fostering the growth of local start-ups.
The global market for bio-based chemicals alone is expected to exceed US$200bn by 2030 according to the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB)
The EDB said that, based on consultations with companies and investors, the new fund will initially support research focused on using by-products and side-streams as feedstocks to produce useable materials. There will also be a focus on developing new microbe and enzyme-based production methods, as well as improving efficiency in process production.
In addition, R&D will be dedicated to finding the best mix of biological and chemical solutions to create commercially relevant goods such as high-grade synthetic rubbers. With the new investment, Singapore’s government is now spending some S$200m ($156m) on bioeconomy-related initiatives over the next five years.
The announcement of the Bioeconomy Funding Initiative came as the National Centre for Engineering Biology was officially opened at the University of Singapore. The S$50m ($40m) centre brings together talent from multiple organisations to work on manufacturing speciality chemicals, as well as product design and testing that is enabled by machine learning and AI.
Further reading
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