KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 16): The Aerospace Malaysian Innovation Centre (AMIC) is setting its sights on technology to develop jet fuel from algae, innovative new standards in aero structure manufacturing and sustainable green aeronautic materials as well as improved technologies for systems integration.
AMIC is a consortium-led project led by EADS, Rolls Royce, Composite Technology Research Malaysia (CTRM) and the Government of Malaysia convened its first board meeting on Monday, setting research priorities for upcoming projects.
In a statement Nov 15, AMIC joint chairmen Emeritus Professor Datuk Dr. Zakri Abdul Hamid, who is Science Advisor to the Prime Minister of Malaysia and Jean Botti, chief technical officer of EADS said that advances in these areas hold great promise for the aerospace industry.
“The co-chair welcome this development particularly in the strengthening of capacity building and job creation for young Malaysians in the fledging aerospace industry,” they said.
They said that development of other identified technology areas such as innovation in aero structure manufacturing and sustainable aeronautic materials also promised to advance Malaysia’s position in high-value sustainable industries and contribute to the value chain of global OEMs, such as EADS and Rolls Royce.
AMIC chief technical officer Dr Cyrille Schwob said the development of sustainable aeronautics helped both to increase the sustainability of production and reduce fuel costs.
“Composite materials, such as those produced by CTRM, help to reduce weight and improve efficiency,” said Schwob.
AMIC was approved by the Government of Malaysia in December 2010 at a meeting of the Malaysian Aerospace Council chaired by the Prime Minister of Malaysia and is expected to be officially launched at the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition (LIMA), in December.
The centre is a platform developed by the Malaysian Industry-Government Group for High Technology (MIGHT) that convenes stakeholders from both the public and private sector as well academic and research communities.
Funded by RM40 million in grants from the Government of Malaysia, EADS and Rolls Royce, the centre is an industry-driven organisation pairing industry demands for research and technology with local Malaysian capability from universities.
AMIC said this innovative model was expected to substantially improve the commercial success of aerospace research and development projects undertaken in Malaysia.
The centre has already had a number or research proposals, which are being vetted for approval, based on the identified research priorities and are expected to start being approved towards the end of 2011.
AMIC executive director Datuk Rosdi Mahmud said the centre had witnessed a strong uptake in the number of proposals on both the supply and demand side of the centre with both researchers and industry players expressing a desire to develop new research and technology projects under the AMIC umbrella.
“We look forward to approving the first research proposals in the near future,” he said.
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