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Four organisations have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to collaborate and develop new hull designs for large ocean-going vessels and make them more environmentally friendly.

Under the three-year MoU, Singapore's Institute Of High Performance Computing (IPIC), Sembcorp Marine Ltd, the University of Glasgow and UGS will use computational modelling and visualisation technologies to design vessels with improved hydrodynamics for better fuel efficiency.

In addition, they are to collaborate on and innovate features to reduce exhaust emissions and discharges by enhancing scrubber and ballast treatment systems.

"The partnership will form an eco-system that creates value from unique technologies and research talent. The collaboration will employ multi-physics computation to build modelling and simulation capabilities. It will combine the scientific expertise from IHPC, University of Glasgow and UGS, with Sembcorp Marine's knowledge and wealth of experience in industrial maritime applications," Singapore's Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) said in a statement.

Under the research collaboration, Sembcorp Marine and IHPC will be tasked with analysing and improving gas abatement technology using an enhanced scrubber design to address the emission of gases such as sulphur oxides (SOx), nitrous oxides (NOx), particulate matter and greenhouse gases - in particular carbon dioxide (CO2) - from heavy fuel-burning combustion engines.

"Beyond the current areas of focus, the three organisations hope to expand the scope of the collaboration to create a more comprehensive package of solutions for more efficient ocean-going vessels. The partners are also looking at the possibility of a joint laboratory to advance R&D in this area," A*STAR said.