R&D : A Key Driver     Membrane & Materials Technology Centre     Research Collaborations    Research Collaborations Hyflux adopts a multiple prong approach on its R&D strategy: In-house research & collaborations with leading research institutions to open up areas for membrane applications. It has always been our strategic intent to collaborate with leading research institutions and companies to expand the areas of membrane applications. We work towards developing and upgrading our research programs, improving existing technologies & processes and commercialising novel technologies to the market. - Hyflux CEPAration B.V exhibition booth at the Aquatech Amsterdam 2006   - Signing Ceremony between Hyflux and NUS   ...............................................................................................................................................................................    National University of Singapore The collaboration with the the National University of Singapore (NUS), Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering sees Hyflux and NUS jointly researching on polymers and composites to develop membrane materials suitable for applications in the chemical and life science industries. It brings together Hyflux's core competency in membrane engineering and NUS's strength in polymer research capabilities to further new advances in the membrane biotreactor technology applications to meet the needs of the emerging industries as well as benefit society with even more environmentally-friendly solutions.   ...............................................................................................................................................................................    CEPAration B.V Hyflux also ties up with CEPAration B.V, a spin off from leading Dutch technology institute, Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research, with an exclusive license to Hyflux to manufacture its cutting edge compact and low cost ceramic hollow fibre membranes globally. Hyflux also has the exclusive right to market and sell the membranes worldwide outside of Europe. This investment extends the Group's membrane product offerings to provide a comprehensive range of polymeric, stainless steel and ceramic membranes for various pretreatment liquid separation applications.   ...............................................................................................................................................................................    Marmon Water LLC - Signing Ceremony between Hyflux and Marmon Water, graced by Minister of State for Trade and Industry, Mr Lee Yi Shyan For our consumer business, Hyflux partners Marmon Water LLC, major American residential water manufacturer to invest up to S$50 million in a Singapore Technology centre, to develop innovative and affordable products and technologies for both residential and commercial applications. Hyflux also has a manufacturing joint venture with Marmon Water, to set up a facility in Jiangsu province, China to manufacture residential water treatment and filtration products for worldwide markets, including China In addition, Hyflux and Marmon Water have entered into licence agreements on products complementary to each company’s current offerings. Marmon Water has exclusively licensed to Hyflux stainless steel membranes, used in high pressure and high temperature industrial applications, which Hyflux will manufacture in Singapore and sell throughout Asia. Marmon has also licensed to Hyflux its media used to purify liquid streams in pharmaceutical, food and beverage applications. In turn, Hyflux has exclusively licensed its range of hollow fibre membranes to a Marmon Water subsidiary for sale and manufacture in North America. The Licensing agreements are for a period of 20 years.   ...............................................................................................................................................................................    BP and Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics - Signing Ceremony between Hyflux and DICP, graced by Minster Counsellor from the Chinese Embassy in Singapore, Mr Li Ming Lin Hyflux together with BP International Ltd (“BP”) and the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics (“DICP”) is jointly developing and commercialising the use of zeolite dewatering membranes in the production of biofuels. By increasing the efficiency of the dewatering step, zeolite membranes have the potential to significantly reduce the energy costs of production of biofuels such as bio-ethanol. Bio-ethanol is produced by fermentation of sugars derived from starchy plants (corn, potatoes), sugar-rich plants (beets, sugar cane) or ligneous or cellulosic plants (wood, straw). Dewatering of alcohol is typically an energy intensive and costly process. Zeolite membrane technology has been proven to be especially cost-effective in the dewatering process and offers very significant energy savings when compared with conventional processes The scope of the agreement also covers the fermentation and synthetic alcohol dehydration propanol, and mixtures of alcohols and diols, specifically monoethylene glycol. DICP is an acknowledged leader in the field of zeolite membrane research in China while BP is one of the world’s largest energy giants. This collaboration brings together the academic and technical skills of DICP, with the technology commercialisation and business expertise of Hyflux, as well as the market know-how and global presence of BP.   ...............................................................................................................................................................................