Overview
An informative workshop on the development plans in Italy and Singapore for the use of hydrogen as a clean and sustainable energy source. The existing bilateral scientific collaborations and the technological solutions of some companies from the two countries that operate in the sector will be presented.
Program
3:15pm Arrival and Registration
3:30pm Introduction by Dante Brandi, Ambassador of Italy
3:40pm Singapore Hydrogen Strategy by Wai Ying Ho, Energy Market Authority
4:00pm Italian Hydrogen Strategy by Elisabetta Comini, University of Brescia
4:20pm Bilateral project: Thin-film solid oxide fuel cell by Pooi See Lee, NTU
4:30pm Bilateral project: Innovative Electrocatalysist based on quantum materials by Yong-Wei Zhang, A*STAR
4:40pm Italian Companies: Giovanni Squassabia, MAIRE; Nicola Battuello, RINA
5:00pm Singaporean Companies: Wai Jun Mak, SYDROGEN; Wooi Leong Tan, SURBANA JURONG
5:20pm Q&A Session moderated by Nicola Bianchi, Italian Scientific Attaché
5:40pm Refreshment & Networking

Schedule
Date: 14 Apr 2025, Monday
Time: 3:30 PM - 6:00 PM (GMT +8:00) Kuala Lumpur, Singapore
Location: Sala Italia, Embassy of Italy, 9 Raffles Place, #33-01 Republic Plaza, 048619
Speakers
Speaker's Profile:
Wai Ying Ho , Senior Principal Analyst, Energy Market Authority
She focuses on low-carbon alternatives such as hydrogen, carbon capture and biofuels for power sector decarbonisation. She contributed to the development of the Singapore National Hydrogen Strategy which includes the development of an ammonia pathfinder project and a Directed Hydrogen Program under the LCER Funding Initiative. Prior to joining EMA, Wai Ying spent more than a decade in the LNG and oil and gas industry after graduating from NUS with a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering.
Speaker's Profile:
Elisabetta Comini, Professor, University of Brescia
Full professor at University of Brescia, Director of SENSOR laboratory and is a co-founder of NASYS. She is a research specialist in the growth of metal oxides, particularly nanowires, thin films and the measurement of their electronic, functional and structural properties. She has more than 477 peer reviewed paper, with h-index of 77 and has filed 5 patents. She has won several international awards and has been nominated EUROSENSORS 2012 fellow and selected as a Vebleo fellow in 2020. She has been selected among the top 100 Italian women scientists and ranked 1st in the Top Italian Women Scientists Material & Nano Sciences list
Speaker's Profile:
Poi See Lee, Professor, Nanyang Technological University
Full professor and Vice President (International Engagement) at Nanyang Technological University. Her research interests are in Nanomaterials for electronics and energy, soft electronics, flexible and stretchable devices, human-machine interface, energy storage, nanogenerators, electrochromics. She has authored many publications and holds more than 30 patents filed/provisional applications at present. She received many awards like the prestigious NRF Investigatorship 2015, the 2016 Nanyang Research Award and 2018 Nanyang Innovation and Enterpreneurship Award. She is elected as the National Academy of Inventors Fellow in 2020 and is currently the Senior Editor of ACS Energy Letters
Speaker's Profile:
Yong-Wei Zhang , Professor, A*STAR
Distinguished Principal Scientist and Distinguished Institute Fellow at the Institute of High Performance Computing (IHPC), A*STAR, Singapore. He also holds adjunct professorships at the National University of Singapore (NUS) and the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD). He worked at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Brown University, the Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE), and NUS. His research interests focus on developing and applying theories, modelling, and simulation tools to investigate the structure-property relationship of materials for applications in new material design and manufacturing, energy conversion, and storage, among others
Speaker's Profile:
Nicola Battuello , Global Innovation Executive Vice President, RINA
RINA Global Innovation Executive Vice President. RINA is a multinational company that helps clients build strong and successful businesses, through a global network of 5800 talented professionals. With its extensive know-how in Hydrogen Value Chain encompassing production, transport, storage, and final uses in the industrial, mobility and residential sectors, RINA provides its clients with cutting-edge engineering, consultancy, and testing, inspection and certification services. Recently, RINA launched Open Innovation Hubs, centres dedicated to advancing technological development and driving local innovation, with a strong focus on sustainability to facilitate collaboration and knowledge exchange. In areas such as electrification, AI, and decarbonisation, the OIH strives to shape a more sustainable future for Singapore and beyond.
Speaker's Profile:
Giovanni Squassabia , Region Vice President Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, Cambodia and Australia, MAIRE
MAIRE Region Vice President Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, Cambodia and Australia. MAIRE is a leading technology and engineering group dedicated to enabling the energy transition through innovative solutions. The company offers Sustainable Technology Solutions and Integrated E&C Solutions in areas such as nitrogen fertilizers, hydrogen, circular carbon, fuels, chemicals, and polymers. NEXTCHEM is the subsidiary of MAIRE, which focus on Sustainable Fertilizers & Nitrogen-Based Fuels, Low-Carbon Energy Vectors, and Sustainable Materials & Circular Solutions. It is at the forefront of green chemistry and energy transition, leveraging its expertise for hydrogen and syngas production across various technologies and feedstocks, including green hydrogen, blue hydrogen, and syngas derived from natural gas.
Speaker's Profile:
Wai Jun Mak , Head of Business Development, Sydrogen Energy Pte. Ltd.
Head of Business Development of Sydrogen Energy. Sydrogen Energy Pte. Ltd. (“Sydrogen”) is Nanofilm Technologies International Limited’s (“Nanofilm”) effort in building sustainable energy solutions for the hydrogen economy. Sydrogen is a joint venture with a Temasek holdings subsidiary. Building on Nanofilm’s deep expertise in vacuum coatings and carbon technology, Sydrogen brings to market innovative solutions in components, systems and integrated solutions for both fuel cell and electrolysers, completing the hydrogen value chain. Sydrogen’s vision is to realise our Hydrogen economy, today.
Speaker's Profile:
Wooi Leong Tan , Senior Executive Director (Global Energy), Surbana Jurong Group
Wooi Leong Tan is at the forefront of decarbonisation, leading Surbana Jurong Group’s Global Energy portfolio. For 75 years, SJ Group is a trusted partner on major Energy, Transport and Water engineering projects around the globe, and with 16,000 specialists in 38+ countries, united by the purpose, “Real impact, made together”, and committed to creating measurable and meaningful change for the built environment. As the Global Energy Lead, is pivotal in growing renewables, power & gas, energy transition & fuels initiatives, including the development of large-scale renewable projects, building the hydrogen value chain, energy storage, transnational power transmission, CCUS conceptualization & implementation and creating decarbonisation roadmaps for both the public sector & private MNCs. He currently serves as Vice President of the Hydrogen & Fuel Cell Association of Singapore, is a member of the Singapore CCUS Consortium.
Moderator's Profile:
Nicola Bianchi, Scientific Attachè, Italian Embassy
Nicola Bianchi is the Diplomatic Counselor for science and technology at the Italian Embassy in Singapore. Holding a Master Degree with Honors in Physics from University of Rome “La Sapienza”, since 2005 he is was appointed Research Director at Frascati National Laboratory of the INFN. He has been President of the Nuclear Physics Division of the European Physical Society (EPS), the Italian government representative in the Council of the SESAME multilateral project in Jordan, a member of the LHeC International Advisory Committee at CERN, of the Program Advisory Committee of the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility in USA. He was editor of Eur. Phys. Jour. A, referee for DOE (USA), CNRS and ANR (France), FNRS (Belgium) and INFN (Italy). He is fellow of EPS. He was leading several projects in particle and nuclear physics in Italy, Germany and Switzerland. He has published over 400 peer-reviewed articles with an h-index of about 140.