Programmes & Initiatives
More than 200 participants from the maritime industry, academia, students and government agencies attended the 13th edition of the SMI Forum on 6 November. Themed “Towards Maritime Net Zero: R&D Pathways to 2030 and Beyond”, the participants shared and discussed the latest research and development (R&D) advancements in maritime decarbonisation technologies.
In his welcome address, Professor Low Teck Seng, Chairman of SMI, highlighted the role of R&D in providing new insights, knowledge and developing novel and practical solutions to address the industry challenges. He urged the R&D community and the industry to collaboratively navigate the pathways towards achieving the International Maritime Organization’s GHG strategy.
Chief Executive of the Maritime and Porty Authority of Singapore, Mr Teo Eng Dih, shared the challenges and opportunities for Maritime Singapore as the industry works towards the national climate target of reaching net zero emissions by 2050. He emphasised the critical role of the local institutes of higher learning and R&D community in catalysing Maritime Singapore’s decarbonisation pathways.
Another highlight of the event was an interactive panel discussion comprising industry leaders from ABS, Rolls-Royce, Wartsila, and academic researchers from local and overseas institutions. The panel discussed the current state of maritime decarbonisation and shared insights on important enablers for the maritime industry to decarbonise and attain the net zero goals.
SMI also had the pleasure of hosting Professor Jessika Trancik of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as the SMI Distinguished Visitor 2023, and the keynote speaker at this year’s SMI Forum. An expert in energy systems, she’s a key figure at MIT’s Institute for Data, Systems, and Society. In her keynote presentation, Prof Trancik shared her MIT research work on the current state of clean energy technology and its impact on climate change mitigation.
