SINGAPORE: Singapore is looking to work with more like-minded partners to advance artificial intelligence (AI) enabled manufacturing for a greener and more sustainable future, says Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat.

These partnerships are a “critical enabler” of the republic’s manufacturing ambitions, noted Heng in a speech on Monday.

“Such partnerships allow us to develop our respective strengths and support one another in navigating some of the difficult adjustments that come with transformation,” he said at the opening ceremony of the Industrial Transformation Asia-Pacific 2024 event.

This comes as Singapore remains on track to achieve its goal of increasing manufacturing value-added by 50% between 2020 and 2030, and positioning itself as a critical node for advanced manufacturing.

At the event at the Singapore Expo, themed “Shaping a Sustainable Future with AI-Powered Manufacturing”, Heng said that the manufacturing sector globally accounts for around one fifth of global carbon emissions, so it is critical that the sector contributes and uses new green and sustainable solutions to boost global efforts to combat climate change.

Another key trend will be the transformative impact of AI on the sector, which accounts for around 20% of Singapore’s gross domestic product.

In his speech, Heng announced several initiatives and outlined ways local and overseas organisations can collaborate with the local manufacturing ecosystem.

For example, Singapore and its partners have to work together to broaden platforms that translate scientific insights into “practical, innovative and viable” solutions.

To that end, the Advanced Manufacturing Centre of Innovation was launched on Monday by Enterprise Singapore, in collaboration with A*Star’s Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology and four polytechnics – Nanyang, Ngee Ann, Singapore and Temasek.

The centre aims to support more than 800 local companies from the advanced-manufacturing sector over the next two years, in more than 100 joint innovation projects to generate new revenue streams.

Such projects could include the development of chips to advance commercial medical products in the healthcare sector, and leveraging real-time machining data to support smart-factory projects. 

 - ANN