TO support the research and commercialisation of waste-to-energy (WTE) technologies here, the National Environment Agency (NEA) has signed a collaboration agreement with Nanyang Technological University (NTU) to co-fund the development of a S$40 million WTE research facility.

The WTE facility, which is the first of its kind in Singapore, is expected to be commissioned by late 2018 at a 0.7 ha site in Tuas.

It will house a next-generation gasification incinerator, which runs at a higher temperature than the current mass-burn systems in place here, executive director at the Nanyang Environment and Water Research Institute Ng Wun Jern told reporters on the sidelines of the signing ceremony.

Possible projects at the incinerator include turning waste and biomass into synthetic gas, which could then be bottled and sold for commercial usage or used to generate electricity.

This is compared to mass-burn systems, which are only able to produce heat and steam used to drive turbines for electricity generation.

Said Prof Ng: "What we do in the lab is research; (but) research is still a long way from actual application. We need to move research to engineering, so what this facility allows us to do is to address the engineering issues.

"The other aspect is that . . . this facility will allow us to train very highly skilled manpower for the industry, both in Singapore and when our companies (export) the technologies."

The agreement was signed by NEA chief executive Ronnie Tay and Prof Ng at the CleanEnviro Summit Singapore 2016 on Wednesday.

Said Mr Tay: "This collaboration with NTU underscores NEA's commitment towards Singapore's vision of becoming a zero waste nation.

"We hope that this facility will provide stakeholders such as research institutes, academia and industry with a platform to collaborate in and create more effective and sustainable waste management solutions."