Singapore – In a bid to advance the country’s growing quantum industry, Singapore’s deputy prime minister and National Research Foundation NRF chairman Heng Swee Keat has recently announced an investment of nearly US$300m into Singapore’s National Quantum Strategy.
The said investment aims to bolster the country’s position as a leading hub for the development and deployment of quantum technologies over the next five years.
As part of this endeavour, the organisation has outlined four funding initiatives, which will be the main focus of the NQS.
Among these initiatives is the Centre for Quantum Technologies (CQT), a research centre of excellence hosted by the National University of Singapore, which will be elevated to a flagship national research centre.
Second, the new National Quantum Sensor Programme that was established under Quantum Engineering Programme 3.0 (QEP 3.0). Existing national-level quantum programmes will also boost their capabilities to meet industry needs.
Third, the new National Quantum Processor Initiative (NQPI) was set up to facilitate Singapore’s efforts in designing and building its own practical quantum processor.
Lastly, the National Quantum Scholarships Scheme, which will be launched to foster talent development in quantum research and development in Singapore.
Along with the investment, Heng also introduced the Green Data Centre (DC) Roadmap, designed to promote digital sustainability and chart green growth pathways for DCs, supporting AI and computer developments.
He further announced the launch of the new Model AI Governance Framework (Generative AI) and the development of the Digital Forum for Small States (DFOSS) AI Governance Playbook in collaboration with Rwanda to advance AI safety.
The said roadmap also detailed IMDA’s plans to collaborate with the industry to push boundaries and enhance DC sustainability in two key areas, which involve accelerating DC energy efficiency at both hardware and software levels, promoting the use of green energy in DCs to expand capacity, and exploring scalable deployment strategies to optimise space for ongoing DC growth.
Talking about the initiative, Janil Puthucheary, senior minister of state for communications and information, also discussed the country’s proactive approach towards ensuring the long-term sustainable growth of DCs with the Green DC Roadmap.
According to him, the roadmap aims to deliver at least 300 megawatts of additional capacity in the near term, with much more through green energy deployments. The additional capacity will also accelerate energy efficiency and provide hybrid ways to discover further capacity through green energy.
