Vestas celebrates opening of Asia R&D Centre in Singapore with key research partnerships underway

Randers, 3 November, 2008

Vestas celebrates opening of Asia R&D Centre in Singapore with key research partnerships underway - Research partners include Nanyang Technological University, National University of Singapore and Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR)

Danish company Vestas Wind Systems A/S, the world's leading supplier of wind power solutions, today announces the opening of the Vestas regional R&D Hub for Asia at Fusionopolis, Singapore, one of its largest R&D centres outside Denmark. This marks the first milestone of the company's 10-year plan to invest up to S$500 million in Singapore to advance research in wind power technologies in light of the world's growing energy challenge.

Located at Singapore's newly launched Fusionopolis - an iconic science and technology powerhouse that brings scientists, engineers and technology experts from public research institutions and the private sectors under one roof - Vestas' regional R&D hub will embrace high quality technology research, new component and sub-system development, as well as innovation in product development to maximize wind turbine performance, product reliability, and reduction in wind energy cost.

Having begun operations here in the second half of 2007, Vestas Technology R&D wasted no time in identifying and driving new collaborations with research institutions and Universities. The company has since established three local Master Research Agreements with Singapore varsities, namely Nanyang Technological University (NTU), National University of Singapore (NUS) and Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR). In addition, two regional Master collaboration agreements have also been inked with Tsinghua University in Beijing, China, and the Cooperative Research Council (CRC) based in Melbourne, Australia. These range from working with NTU on advance composites development, NUS on material fatigue studies, CRC on applied research in sensor technology, as well as further research and development programmes underway.

Come December 2008, this R&D facility will house over 100 researchers and engineers holding PhDs and Engineering Masters from 16 nationalities. Next year, the R&D facility will continue to grow and exceed its target of 150 engineers in 2009, doubling this community to over 300 R&D engineers by 2012.

Only in its first year, the Asia R&D Hub has already experienced a fast ramp-up. Prior to the opening ceremony today, Vestas announces that it will make the most of Singapore's dynamic research environment and pool of talent so as to develop synergies in other multi-disciplinary science and technology areas through external industry partnerships. “Drawn to Singapore's culture and reputation for research and innovation, robust intellectual property laws, ethical frameworks and governmental support for the industry, Vestas is confident of leveraging our new R&D Hub to consolidate our leadership position globally, and to propel our growth in Asia, where the role of wind energy in powering the world's long-term energy sustainability is increasingly being recognised,” says Finn Strøm Madsen, President, Vestas Technology R&D.

On the search for manpower resources, Managing Director of the regional R&D Hub, Mr. Matthew Low notes, “Wind turbine generators are multi-disciplinary engineering machines. We need different calibres of talents from all fields of science and engineering. So far, we have been able to source this from a rich and broad engineering-based cluster in Singapore and the surrounding countries, such as the semiconductor & electronics sector, industrial automation, aero-space and automotive industries.”

The establishment of the Vestas regional R&D Hub for Asia at Fusionopolis will thus enable Vestas to accelerate its capabilities in harnessing wind power, a highly viable solution to the world's long-term energy demands. The sharp rise in energy consumption calls for a sustainable resource that does not create more greenhouse gases, pollution or waste for future generations. Wind power is a renewable, predictable and clean source of energy. In addition, substantial capacity can be built up quickly, offering the energy independence demanded by the world's largest and fastest-growing economies.