Singapore Membrane Consortium

SG MEM

The Singapore Membrane Consortium (SG MEM) is set up to promote research, collaboration, and commercialisation in innovative membrane products and technologies. SG MEM will connect expertise in our research institutes with companies, to translate cutting-edge research in membrane technologies into products and technologies that meet industry needs. It will also provide a seamless platform for researchers, industry and government agencies to promote and access membrane technology for new focus areas beyond water, such as in energy, pharmaceuticals, food and beverage, and biomedical applications.

SG MEM will bring together the multi-faceted membrane R&D capabilities of Singapore’s public-sector universities and innovation centres under one umbrella to accelerate the translation of technologies for industry applications. It will integrate the R&D capabilities of the Separation Technologies Applied Research and Translation (START) Centre, under Nanyang Technological University, Singapore’s (NTU Singapore) innovation and enterprise arm NTUitive; the National University of Singapore’s Membrane Science and Technology Consortium (MSTC); NTU Singapore’s Singapore Membrane Technology Centre (SMTC), which is part of the Nanyang Environment and Water Research Institute (NEWRI); and Ngee Ann Polytechnic’s Environmental and Water Technology Centre of Innovation (EWTCOI) .

SG MEM will also work closely with Singapore-anchored industries across the entire value chain, including start-ups, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), large local enterprises (LLEs), multi-national companies (MNCs), as well as key Singapore government agencies, including SPRING Singapore, the Economic Development Board, the Energy Market Authority, Singapore’s national water agency PUB, and the National Environment Agency.

To date, a total of 15 SMEs, LLEs and MNCs have joined the consortium as founding members. These are Shell, Sembcorp, Grundfos, Kurita-Singapore, Aquaporin-Asia, Ceraflo, De.mem, Blue Ocean Memtech, Marmon Product Development Center, Evoqua Water Technologies, SUEZ, Regentech, ECOSOFTT, UES Holdings, and Tritech Group Ltd.

SG MEM will be governed by a Steering Committee and a Technical Management Committee. The Steering Committee will take charge of the overall direction, strategy and work plan of the consortium, and will be chaired by Dr Adil Dhalla, Managing Director of START. The Technical Management Committee will look into the technical aspects and performance of the consortium, and will be chaired by Professor Gary Amy, Coordinator of the MSTC.

Consortium Activities
To strengthen integration between researchers and industry, companies working with SG MEM will benefit from working with researchers in one or more of the following areas that suit their business interests:

Development of novel membrane materials based on market needs, and the processes for their fabrication;
Design, assembly and testing of modules or elements; and
Membrane systems including processes, operation, integration and optimisation.

SG MEM will focus on five sectors that present opportunities for the commercialisation of membrane technology:

Gas separation and purification in the energy sector;
Concentration and purification of pharmaceutical ingredients in the pharmaceuticals sector;
Clarifying, concentration and purification of products in the food and beverage sector;
Controlled drug-delivery systems in the biomedical sector; and
Energy-efficient treatment processes in the water sector.

Companies will have access to world class research laboratories and facilities located at the research institutes to manufacture, assemble and test membranes to bring R&D to market. SG MEM activities will include technology workshops to facilitate interactions between research institutes and industry representatives on the latest technologies. SG MEM will also collaborate with the Membrane Society in Singapore for wider outreach to the professional membrane community, as well as network with other regional and global membrane centres.