Organisation:
SGInnovate, Frost & Sullivan
Resource Link:
Published in 2022, Link
My Key Takeaways
Unlike other sectors like tech, there seems to be a lot less knowledge resources for advanced manufacturing companies in Singapore and Asia.
That’s why I had to share my takeaways from this report by SGInnovate and Frost & Sullivan report covering some of the most commonly raised manufacturing innovation priorities opportunities in Singapore (SG) & Asia Pacific (APAC).
1) Additive Manufacturing (AM)
Accelerating AM adoption in APAC (Pg 7)
83% of APAC respondents believe AM will be integrated by parts manufacturers into supply chains in the next two years.
The top three industries in APAC increasing investment in AM are Medtech (100%), Aerospace (90%) and Machinery & Systems (90%).
One third of all industrial 3D printer installations, and 40% of AM market value in Southeast Asia are from Singapore, supported by key stakeholders like the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Cluster (NAMIC).
Addressing AM tech gaps
Powder Bed Fusion (73% of respondents), Stereolithography (68%) and Fused Deposition Modelling (61%) are the three most widely adopted AM processes globally for producing parts on demand and low volume production (Pg 9, 10).
Pg 9 for an overview of industry initiatives like Hybrid Machining, Large Scale AM, Wire Arc AM & Next-Gen Direct-Ink-Writing to address tech gaps like post processing issues, inability to print large parts and lack of multi-material printing.
2) Advanced Materials
61% of APAC respondents are willing to invest in advanced materials for use in their manufacturing processes in the next two years.
Specifically for advanced materials used in the AM sector, key growth drivers are Aerospace (20% of AM materials market), Medtech (16%), and Machinery & Systems (12%).
Business development and fundraising insights for your advanced materials company in Singapore and APAC
On page 4 of the report, you’ll find a breakdown of different advanced materials’ adoption levels (e.g. metal powders, engineering polymers) across AM markets like Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan and Australia (Pg 14).
For example, Malaysia and Singapore are the top adopters of metal powders, and Japan is by far the largest adopter of AM polymeric resins.
Interesting, 26% of companies in Singapore are open to using self-healing polymers in the next two years.
Fundraising, co-funding and exits in Singapore’s advanced materials ecosystem
See page 19 for prominent advanced materials investors (SEEDS Capital, SGInnovate, EDBI Pte Ltd, Wavemaker Partners, M Venture Partners, Emerald Technology Ventures), co-funding mechanisms, and successful exits in Singapore’s deeptech ecosystem (Pg 19).
BASF’s and Clariant’s venture arms are also active in the city state for chemicals and advanced material startups.
3) Decarbonisation
95% of APAC respondents have set specific decarbonisation targets for manufacturing.
An assessment of different mature decarbonisation technologies in Singapore and APAC as well as their adoption factors (Pg 21-24):
- Waste Heat Recovery Systems – Waste heat with temperatures above 200º C is being considered for generating electricity in SG
- IIOT – Delta Electronics‘ MOU with JTC to tackle realtime problems during IIOT based manufacturing
- Solar Heat for Industrial Processing – need to overcome large footprint (2-6 acres/MW) as well as high construction and installation costs (about US$5 million to US$8 million per MW), SG testing the installation of floating solar thermal collectors
- Hydrogen – Keppel Data Center’s collaboration with Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to explore producing hydrogen from steam methane reforming processes and carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies
- Biofuels – Neste Oyj’s has the world’s largest biofuel plant on Jurong Island, Singapore. The biodiesel plant will make use of locally available biobased feedstock, including palm oil and animal fat waste.
- Carbon Capture, Utilisation & Storage – Asia has about 10 facilities either operating or in various stages of commercialisation. SG’s Pan United Corporation has signed a strategic partnership with Canada’s CarbonCure Technologies to accelerate the largescale deployment of a carbon capture facility in the country
Overview of SG’s decarbonisation initiatives (Pg 26, 27)
Examples include Temasek /BlackRock’s US$600M fund (Decarbonisation Partners), Singapore’s public R&D fund RIE2025 allocating US$18.5 million for low-carbon fuels and energy efficient-materials as well as the country’s sustainability master plan (SG Green Plan).
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APAC alone contributes nearly 48.5% of global manufacturing output, and I hope the above ideas would accelerate your advanced manufacturing company’s growth in Singapore and Asia!
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About Zhilin SIM
Having worked and lived in Singapore, the Nordics, China, Spain, UK, I’m now based in Paris.
I’m fluent in English, French and Mandarin, and I’m learning Arabic because it’s a beautiful and fascinating language.
My team creates and supports one-many initiatives connecting corporate and startup ecosystems in Europe to business and innovation opportunities in Singapore and Southeast Asia.
I’m passionate about horticulture, watercolour, startups/tech as well as French cuisine, Peranakan kueh techniques and other global cuisines.
Feel free to connect with me if you think my network in Europe and Asia could be of benefit to your business and innovation activities.
