Rolls-Royce@NTU Corp Lab enters Phase 2, to include Additive Manufacturing projects
July 18, 2019
The Rolls-Royce@NTU Corporate Laboratory in Singapore, jointly established by Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Rolls-Royce and Singapore’s National Research Foundation (NRF) in 2013, has completed its first five years of research partnership and is now moving into its next phase with a joint investment of S$88 million (approx. US$64.7 million).
The laboratory was the first corporate laboratory to be supported under the Singapore public-private research and development (R&D) partnership between universities and companies. In Phase 1, it managed fifty-three research projects in areas such as power electronics, data analytics, and repair and manufacturing technologies. The research outcomes from these projects are now being used to help design and develop future power and propulsion systems and improve manufacturing operations in Singapore and other global Rolls-Royce sites.
Following the success of Phase 1, NTU and Rolls Royce are renewing their partnership to enter Phase 2 with twenty-nine projects focused on developing novel technologies that will power the future of aircraft propulsion. Among these will be projects addressing challenges involved in Additive Manufacturing technologies, such as finishing and polishing processes for internal AM components, and streamlining AM workflows.
Prof Subra Suresh, NTU President, stated, “The Rolls-Royce@NTU Corp Lab is a fine demonstration of NTU scientists working with the industry to develop relevant solutions to meet real-world issues. The first phase of research has achieved remarkable success with more than fifty research projects that can create significant impact in the aerospace industry.”
“Building on that success, we are now moving into the second phase with renewed commitment and new projects that will elevate our collaboration to the next level,” he continued. “We will build on NTU’s core strengths, in areas such as alternative energy storage solutions, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and big data analysis.”
Dr Bicky Bhangu, Rolls-Royce President for Southeast Asia, Pacific & South Korea, commented, “The Corp Lab is an excellent example of the virtues of collaboration, as championed by Rolls-Royce, of seeking diversity to better understand problems when approached with different mindsets and harness the best ideas to come up with the best solutions. Conversely, it provides academic minds with a valuable window into industrial problems and be able to work together for a common good. It provides a dynamic platform as we move towards a new way of learning and a new way of working.”
