Singapore A*Star and 4 auto industry leaders form consortium

Research on car communications and safety, connected car and infotainment, electronics, precision engineering and materials, and alternative energy

Bosch, Dou Yee, Infineon and Th!nk Global, major players in the global automotive industry, have joined Singapore's Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) to form the A*STAR Capabilities for Automotive Research (A*CAR) consortium.

They also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with A*STAR to affirm their commitment to collaborate. The newly formed A*CAR Consortium aims to drive technological advancement and innovation in the automotive sector in Singapore.

The A*CAR Consortium will tap the diverse and multi-disciplinary research capabilities, scientific infrastructure and resources in the seven research institutes of A*STAR's Science and Engineering Research Council (SERC), to conduct pre-competitive, basic and applied research. It aims to address technological challenges in five key areas:

• Car communications & safety
• Connected car & infotainment
• Electronics;
• Precision engineering and materials; and
• Alternative energy

Open to all companies in the automotive industry, the A*CAR Consortium will give members full access to the R&D results developed in the pre-competitive research as well as the option of sending their staff on attachment to work on joint research projects with scientists at the A*STAR SERC research institutes.

Such collaborative research not only will reduce risks and deflect the high R&D costs involved in research, but also will enable members to train manpower and foster strategic networking. This is with the objective of lending technical expertise and support to local automotive supplier companies in their move up the automotive value chain.

A*STAR Chairman Lim Chuan Poh said, A*STAR, who launched the A*CAR Consortium at the Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology (SIMTech), "The A*CAR consortium is a step in the right direction. In bringing the industry and the research community together in collaborative automotive research for technological advancement and innovation, A*CAR will strengthen the local supplier industry with continuing technological infusion and contribute to enhance Singapore's global competitiveness in the automotive industry."

SERC Executive Director Chong Tow Chong, Ph.D., said, "By coming together to form the A*CAR Consortium, the companies have at once articulated their confidence in A*STAR's capabilities to develop innovations and know-how to meet the global technological challenges. They also affirm the consortium's ability to drive innovation across the industry value-chain, tap the vast opportunities available in the industry and contribute to the overall increase in R&D activities in Singapore."