The Business Times, 5 Feb 2010

THE Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*Star) said yesterday its Institute of Chemical and Engineering Sciences (ICES) will work with European aerospace and defence giant EADS to create environmentally friendly bio-fuel. A*Star and EADS will explore whether micro-algae can be used as a renewable source of fuel for aircraft and look into the conversion of algae oil to kerosene for use as jet fuel.

ICES executive director Keith Carpenter said: 'We hope we can prove to the world that micro-algae can be the solution as a much cheaper and much more efficient source of fuel that can benefit the aviation industry and make air travel more environmentally sustainable.'

Micro-algae are more efficient than plants at converting solar energy and carbon dioxide into fixed bio-mass. They can produce almost 90,000 litres of oil per hectare annually.Some micro-algae contain high levels of oil content, which can be used as feedstock to make jet fuel.

Yann Barbaux, head of EADS Innovation Works, said: 'As a systems architect of aeroplanes, it is our responsibility to foster research on bio-fuel, even if we are not directly involved in the energy business.'The aviation sector accounts for 2 to 3 per cent of man-made carbon dioxide emissions. So far, fuel burn has been reduced by creating increasingly efficient aircraft and engines.

A*Star, which participated in the 2008 and this year's Singapore Airshow, also has an aerospace programme aimed at boosting efforts toward aerospace R&D. It works with 18 companies that include industry leaders such as EADS, Boeing, Pratt & Whitney and Rolls-Royce.Since 2007, the programme has channelled $18 million towards 16 projects. Projects on laser processing, advanced robotics and structural health monitoring have been completed, and talks are underway on possibly commercialisation.

Low Teck Seng, executive director of A*Star's science and engineering research council, said: 'We hope we will be able to develop innovative technologies that both MNCs and SMEs can adopt to continue excellence in MRO-related services and for their high-value-added manufacturing and design activities.'A*Star also has technologies that can help improve MRO efficiency and reduce costs, he said. 'For example, we are developing a non-destructive testing method to monitor structure integrity to enable detection of early-stage damage before occurrence.'