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Strengthening innovation-driven inclusive and sustainable development
Asia-Pacific
Tech Monitor Vol. 35 No. 3 Jul - Sep 2018
Financing innovation in Asia and the Pacific
Plus
• Technology News and Events
• Tech Ventures & Opportunities
• Business Coach
The Asian and Pacific Centre for Transfer of Technology (APCTT), a subsidiary body of ESCAP, was established on 16 July
1977 with the objectives to: assist the members and associate members of ESCAP through strengthening their capabilities
to develop and manage national innovation systems; develop, transfer, adapt and apply technology; improve the terms of
transfer of technology; and identify and promote the development and transfer of technologies relevant to the region.
The Centre will achieve the above objectives by undertaking such functions as:
n Research and analysis of trends, conditions and opportunities;
n Advisory services;
n Dissemination of information and good practices;
n Networking and partnership with international organizations and key stakeholders; and
n Training of national personnel, particularly national scientists and policy analysts.
The shaded areas of the map indicate ESCAP members and associate members
CONTENTS
Asia-Pacific
Tech Monitor
Vol. 35 No. 3 v Jul - Sep 2018
The Asia-Pacific Tech Monitor is a quarterly
Introductory Note 2
periodical of the Asian and Pacific Centre for
Transfer of Technology (APCTT) that brings
you up-to-date information on trends in Technology Market Scan 3
technology transfer and development,
technology policies, and new products and Technology Scan: Renewable Energy Technologies 8
processes. The Yellow Pages feature the
Business Coach for innovative firms, as well as Special Theme: Financing innovation in Asia and the
technology offers and requests.
Pacific
Web: www.techmonitor.net
Editorial Board • Financing innovation in the Asia-Pacific
Ms. Michiko Enomoto Challenges and enabling mechanisms 13
Dr. Satyabrata Sahu
Dr. Krishnan Srinivasaraghavan
KyungJin Hyung
ASIAN AND PACIFIC CENTRE
• Bridging the ‘Gap’ – Funding solutions for the future
FOR TRANSFER OF TECHNOLOGY A Malaysia perspective 17
C-2, Qutab Institutional Area
Post Box No. 4575 Rofina Yasmin Othman, Nurzatil Sharleeza Jalaluddin
New Delhi 110 016, India
Tel: +91-11-3097 3700
• Selected Innovation programmes and funds in
Fax: +91-11-2685 6274 Asia and the Pacific 21
E-mail: postmaster.apctt@un.org Tech Events 23
Website: http://www.apctt.org
Opinions expressed by the authors
Tech Ventures & Opportunities 24
are not necessarily those of APCTT.
Business Coach
The designation employed and
the presentation of material in the
publication do not imply the
• Start-up Venture Creation 25
endorsement of any product, process • Technology Transfer 28
or manufacturer by APCTT.
• Venture Financing 31
The contents of the Tech Monitor may be • Managing Innovation 35
reproduced in part or whole without change,
provided that the Tech Monitor and the
• Green Productivity 38
authors concerned are credited as the
source and a voucher copy of the
Tech Opportunities
publication that contains the quoted • Technology Offers 42
material is sent to APCTT.
• Technology Requests 46
This publication has been issued
without formal editing.
ISSN: 0256-9957Introductory note
F inance plays a critical role in developing and harnessing technological
innovations. Adequate level of finance allows researchers, startups and
small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to conduct research, early stage com-
mercialization, and scaling up their innovations. Based on specific financing
needs, several financing stages are distinguished, such as research & devel-
opment (R&D), early stage commercialization (seed, startup), and expansion
& scale up.
The problems of accessing finance at diverse stages of innovation and tech-
nology commercialization vary as per their specific characteristics. The R&D stage involves uncertain-
ties associated with research outputs, and most of R&D spending going as wages and salaries of skilled
workforce. At early commercialization stage, traditional financial institutions like banks exercise caution
to lend startups and SMEs due to the higher level of risk involved. Moreover, these financial institutions
usually lack the capacity to understand and appreciate the potential of new and innovative technologies.
At the expansion stage, the enterprises may face operational issues for scaling up, diversifying product
portfolio, and improving cost-effectiveness as the scale increases over time.
In view of these constraints, the startups and SMEs would require innovative types of financing tools to
meet their needs as they progress from early commercialization to the expansion phases. While public
finance is considered crucial for the R&D stage, business angels play a vital role at the early commercial-
ization and startup phases. With venture capital firms increasingly focusing on later-stage enterprises,
this source of funding is critical for expansion and scaling-up of innovative businesses. At the expansion
stage, Intellectual Property(IP)-based financing (i.e. pledging IPs as collateral for bank lending) is emerg-
ing as an innovative funding instrument.
Technologically advanced countries in Asia and the Pacific have adopted innovative tools and instru-
ments to provide finance at various stages of innovation and commercialization. These include innovative
public funding schemes, soft loans, risk capital, venture capital, private equity, and angel investment.
It is imperative for the developing and least developed countries of the region to explore innovative
financing approaches to accelerate the growth of their innovative startups and SMEs.
This issue of Asia-Pacific Tech Monitor discusses the challenges, opportunities, strategies and best practices
on financing mechanisms and tools for developing and commercializing innovations in the Asia-Pacific
countries.
Michiko Enomoto
Head, APCTT-ESCAPTechnology Market Scan
ASIA-PACIFIC and unmanned convenience stores. Apple tainable business models. The report was
ranked seventh in the world at $11.5 billion, jointly released by the National Institution
Asian companies drive growth a 15-fold increase over the same stretch. It for Finance and Development, the National
in global R&D budgets opened a research facility in Japan last year. Public Information Platform for Party Media
Asian companies outside Japan have more and WeBank, China’s first online-only lender.
Corporate Japan’s R&D spending, mean-
than quadrupled their research and devel- while, rose just 12%. Only 17 compa- Back in 2016, the State Council rolled out
opment budgets in the last decade with nies represented the nation in the top plans to promote the country’s financial
investments in artificial intelligence and 100 budgets last year, down from 24 in inclusion development and, in 2017, the
information technologies, spearheading 2007. Toyota slid to tenth from third after top banking regulator released guidelines
a move into a new industrial era. South increasing investment only 26%. Japanese to boost large and medium-sized banks to
Korea’s Samsung Electronics ranked third electronics makers have actually curbed in- set up inclusive finance divisions. To bet-
in the world for R&D spending, quadru- vestment, with Panasonic falling to 36 from ter cater to the financial needs of custom-
pling its budget since 2007. China’s Alib- 15 in the rankings and Sony to 35 from 18. ers like blue-collar workers, self-employed
aba said in October that it will invest $15 Electronics makers have retreated from business and people living in remote and
billion over the next three years to build fields that require significant R&D costs like undeveloped areas, industry players like
research hubs in China, the U.S., Russia, mobile phones and semiconductors while Shenzhen-based private commercial
Singapore and Israel. The spending, which concentrating on the internet of things in- lender WeBank have introduced various
for a single year would be double what it stead to narrow their budgets. targeted products like “micro loans.”
spent in 2017, is aimed at accelerating re-
https://asia.nikkei.com The amount of small loan products is set
search in AI and the “internet of things.”
between 20,000 yuan (US$2,925) and
U.S. companies increased R&D spending CHINA 200,000 yuan, which does not require guar-
by 86% and are still leaders in AI and IT in- antees or collateral and can be repaid at
vestment. But the ranks of the biggest U.S. Inclusive finance innovation any time. By relying on technologies such
spenders on innovation has changed as Favorable policies and technological ad- as big data, blockchain and cloud comput-
technology brands displace automakers vancement have been great accelerators ing, WeBank is able to control default risks
like General Motors and drugmakers like for innovation in China’s inclusive finance by gathering users’ information for credit
Pfizer. Amazon.com had the world’s larg- sector during the past few years, according assessment, making it a reality for the
est R&D budget at $22.6 billion, a 28-fold to a recent industry report. The country’s masses to benefit from inclusive finance.
jump from 10 years earlier. It expanded inclusive finance industry has seen increas-
Li Nanqing, president of WeBank, said that
its AI development team to 5,000 people ingly rich products and services, more di- inclusive finance has extensive and pro-
last year from 1,000 in 2016 as it conducts versified participants, rapid d
evelopment found connotations, with“equitable access”
experimental research on smart speakers of digital financing and innovative and sus- being its essence. Last November, the bank
unveiled its first product aimed at helping
small and micro businesses in Shenzhen.
Ping An Puhui, a consumer finance arm
of the Chinese insurance giant Ping An
Group, is another front-runner in offering
innovative services for financial inclusion.
The company exports credit auditing and
consulting services to credit providers and
funders and provides diversified loan ser-
vice solutions for borrowers, the report said.
http://www.ecns.cn
Technology drives economic
growth
According to Xinhua news agency, key eco-
nomic indicators for this year’s January to
May period showed that the Chinese econ-
omy has been expanding in a steady manner
with new impetus for so-called“high-quality
development”. Latest economic data from
the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) of
TECH MONITOR • Jul-Sep 2018 3Technology Market Scan
China showed that China’s industrial out- half of this year, the applications for inven- protections for the digital environment. So
put has expanded 6.8% year-on-year in May, tion patents reached 751,000, of which far, 96 countries have adopted the treaty; it
0.3% points higher than the same period last 217,000 have been granted, the office said. came into force on March 6, 2002. The WIPO
year, while the figure for the first five months Strengthened intellectual property right Performances and Phonograms Treaty
came in at 6.9%, also faster than 2017. (IPR) protection led to a 29.5 percent year came into force on May 20, 2002 with 96
The sector-by-sector breakdown of the on year increase in IPR administrative contracting parties as its members.
NBS figures also serves to indicate changes cases in the same period. WPPT provisions identify the rights of two
in the country’s economic structure and Domestic enterprises made up the major- kinds of beneficiaries in the digital envi-
points to emerging industries. According ity of patent granted and owned, at 63.8 ronment:
to Mr Wen Jianwu, Head of NBS’s depart- percent and 67.2 percent respectively.
ment of Industrial Statistics, industrial l Performers (actors, singers, and musi-
However, China still lags behind devel-
output of high-tech and equipment man- cians, among others); and,
oped countries in the number of patents
ufacturing sectors grew 12% and 9.3% re- l Producers of Phonograms (sound re-
in fields such as optics, electrical appara-
spectively in the first five months of 2018. cordings).
tus, audio and video, medical technology,
NBS data also showed that the information transportation and computers, according WPPT recognizes the copyrights of per-
communication, software and information to Bi Nan, an official with the office. formers of original content and their ex-
technology services sectors registered http://www.xinhuanet.com clusive economic rights.
growth above 30%. At the same time, ac-
https://www.india-briefing.com
cording to Mr Zhang Liqun, researcher with INDIA
the State Council’s Development Research Royalty payments for
Centee, production of new energy vehi- WIPO internet treaties technology transfer
cles, integrated circuits, and robots grew approved
The government is considering restric-
by 56.7%, 17.2%, and 35.1% respectively On July 4, India’s cabinet approved the tions on royalty payments for technol-
in May alone. He said that these figures are country’s accession to the WIPO Copyright ogy transfer in view of excessive outflow
a testimony to the effectiveness of China’s Treaty and the WIPO Performances and Pho- of such funds to overseas companies,
ongoing supply-side structural reform. nograms Treaty (the WIPO internet treaties). sources said. The commerce and industry
According to Xinhua, “high-quality de- By doing so, India will be able to provide ministry has proposed limits on royalty
velopment means the Chinese economy international copyright protections to local payments in case of technology transfer or
will focus on quality and efficiency rather creative content-makers and distributors collaboration involving foreign entities ei-
than pace, and medium-to-high growth in the internet and digital realm, granting ther directly or indirectly through any firm
will feature an improved economic struc- them exclusive economic and publishing in India. The proposal will be circulated for
ture and new growth engines”. Fuelled by rights. Beneficiaries include the audiovisu- inter-ministerial views, the sources said.
rapidly expanding internet and big data al, film, music, and literary industries. Acces-
sion to the WIPO internet treaties also levels As per the proposal, such payments
industries, the Chinese server market has
the playing field for Indian creative rights- should be capped at 4 per cent of domes-
become the main driving force behind
holders in other countries as it harmonizes tic sales and 7 per cent of exports for the
a strong global recovery, with sales up
India’s intellectual property (IP) regime with first four years; and for the next three years
67.4% year on year in the first quarter.
international standards. Since India already the limits should be 3 per cent of local sales
Emerging service industries, led by inter- and 6 per cent of exports. For further three
protects the rights of foreign content crea-
net-related sectors, contributed 56.8% to years, these payments should be capped at
tors, the absence of reciprocal protections
the growth in service sector production 2 per cent of domestic sales and 4 per cent
was hurting domestic artists.
last month, 17.9% points higher than the of exports and thereafter at 1 per cent of
same period last year, according to Mr Xu India’s creative industry is currently pro-
local sales and 2 per cent of exports. With re-
Jianyi, Head of the NBS Service Industry jected to earn revenues worth US$25.4
gard to use of trade mark and brand names,
Department. billion by the end of 2018. A stronger
the ministry has proposed to cap royalty
IP regime will boost industry growth and
https://www.opengovasia.com payments at 1 per cent of sales and 2 per
safeguard local artists and content makers
cent of exports of an entity. The increase in
10.6 patents per 10,000 and distributors from losses due copyright
outflow of these payments started after the
citizens infringement and piracy.
government liberalised the FDI policy in
Some 1.47 million patents have been reg- The WIPO Copyright Treaty is a special 2009. It had removed the cap and permit-
istered in the Chinese mainland, or 10.6 agreement under the Berne Convention ted Indian companies to pay royalty to their
patents for every 10,000 citizens, the State (for protection of literary and artistic works). technical collaborators without seeking
Intellectual Property Office said. In the first Its provisions recognize specific copyrights prior government approval.
4 TECH MONITOR • Jul-Sep 2018Technology Market Scan
Royalty is paid to a foreign collabora- locally so that they can more easily get ac- ger vehicles and strengthen its position in
tor for transfer of technology, usage of cess to it when conducting investigations. the commercial vehicle segment. Mahindra
brand or trademarks. In April last year, a India’s push for localization comes at a time and Mahindra, the second largest in this or-
surge in royalty outflow prompted the of heightened global scrutiny of how com- der, has been spending in excess of Rs 10 bn
government to set up an inter-ministerial a year. However, its R&D expense dropped
panies store user data. In July, India said
group to analyse payment norms and see to Rs 19.9 bn in FY18, from Rs 20.8 bn a year
its federal police had begun probing Cam-
whether there is excessive payout by In- before. The maker of the Scorpio and XUV
bridge Analytica’s misuse of Facebook user
dian companies to foreign collaborators. 5OO has a busy product pipeline ahead,
data, which New Delhi suspects included
Proposing these restrictions, the ministry as it seeks to protect its share in its core
information on Indian users. The draft re-
had argued that the curbs would help in- SUV segment and shore up investment in
port of the cloud policy panel, which is
crease the profits of domestic companies, electric vehicle technology. An e-mail sent
headed by the co-founder of Indian tech
mainly in the automobile sector, prevent to Mahindra remained unanswered till the
giant Infosys, Kris Gopalakrishnan, said a
depletion of foreign exchange reserves, time of this report.
“forward looking” data protection regime
protect interest of minority shareholders
was needed as India’s IT laws framework Hero MotoCorp also saw its R&D expense
and increase revenue for the government.
was “not sufficient” for cloud computing. fall, to Rs 4.9 bn in FY18 from a little over Rs
Before 2009, royalty payments were regu- 7 bn in FY17, lower than any of the previ-
The Indian public cloud services market
lated by the government and capped at 8 ous three years. A company spokesperson
is set to more than double to $7 billion
per cent of exports and 5 per cent domes- said this was because of an unusually high
by 2022, the draft report said. Enterprise
tic sales in the case of technology trans- level of investment in FY16 and FY17 in set-
spending on data center infrastructure
fer collaborations. They were fixed at 2 per ting up a Centre of Innovation and Tech-
software will rise 10 percent to $3.6 billion
cent of exports and 1 per cent of domestic nology (CIT) in Jaipur. “With the CIT now
in 2018, research firm Gartner estimates.
sales for use of trademark or brand name. fully operational, our R&D spend in FY18
Telecom companies too pay $15 royalty https://www.firstpost.com (came down),” he said. Hero now boasts of
for every mobile line. A single line ideally R&D spending in automobile a state-of-the-art R&D facility and a glo-
supports a single call at a given point of bal team of engineers that is working on
sector
time. Similarly, Auto major Maruti Suzuki developing a new range of products for
pays an average royalty of around 5.5 per Automobile companies’ spending on re- customers around the globe, he added.
cent of its net sales to its parent Suzuki. search and development (R&D) grew 6.28
https://www.business-standard.com
per cent in 2017-18. While this is better than
https://www.business-standard.com
the -0.34 per cent seen in FY17, it is still a
Upcoming cloud computing far cry from the double-digit growth in the
JAPAN
policy three previous years. This moderation is de- Patent arbitration hub
A panel working on the Indian govern- spite record sales, and changing regulations Japan will open an international arbitra-
ment’s cloud computing policy wants data which require more research and develop- tion body specializing in intellectual prop-
generated in India to be stored within the ment spends. New advanced emission, fuel erty here in September, the first one in Asia
country, according to its draft report seen efficiency and safety rules are to take effect designed to facilitate resolution of a grow-
by Reuters, a proposal that could deal a blow over the next three to four years which will ing number of patent disputes. The spread
to global technology giants such as Ama- require companies to develop the technol- of the “internet of things” has led to more
zon and Microsoft who offer such services. ogy to meet these norms. Automobile sales clashes between companies over patents.
It could not only raise their costs because in India are up 14 per cent to 2,49,72,788 With patents for essential communications
they will need to ramp up the number and in 2017-18, the highest in six years. The technology now being used by a wider
size of data storage centers in India, where analysis is based on figures gleaned from range of industries, the number of cases that
power costs remain high, but at least some the financials of Tata Motors, Mahindra and cannot be settled through dialogue is ris-
of those increases are likely to be passed Mahindra, SML Isuzu, Ashok Leyland, Hero ing, according to Japan’s Patent Office. The
onto customers who include everyone from Motocorp, Bajaj Auto, Maruti Suzuki India, organization will feature a roster of a dozen
small start-ups to large Indian corporations. TVS Motor Company and Eicher Motors. or so arbitrators from inside and outside Ja-
The policy will be the latest in a series of pro- Tata Motors (excluding its UK subsidiary, pan, including a former chief judge of a U.S.
posals that seek to spur data localization in Jaguar Land Rover Automotive) leads in court that hears patent cases. It will be led by
India, as the government finalizes an over- this spending. The maker of the Tiago and Katsuya Tamai, a University of Tokyo profes-
arching data protection law. Local data stor- Hexa models spent almost Rs 24 bn in FY18, sor specializing in intellectual property law.
age requirements for digital payments and up 14 per cent over a year and its highest Dealing with allegations of patent infringe-
e-commerce sectors are also being planned. in at least five years. This was part of the ment requires a deep understanding of the
The authorities want the information stored company’s effort to turn around in passen- value and scope of the intellectual property
TECH MONITOR • Jul-Sep 2018 5Technology Market Scan
in question. Such cases can be time-con- the ratio of renewable energy resources, various corporate R&D labs and institutes of
suming for a court or an arbitration organiza- such as solar, wind and steam power plants. higher learning and the national research
tion set up to handle business disputes more http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr foundation to develop deep technology ca-
generally. The new center will seek to resolve pabilities and intellectual property in cyber
cases within a year. Though patents are reg- SINGAPORE security, AI, advanced data analytics, smart
istered separately in different countries, computing applications, building automa-
decisions made by arbitrators are binding Digital innovation tion systems, robotics and industrial IoT.
across the 150-plus signatories to a United In line with Singapore’s efforts to encour-
https://sg.channelasia.tech
Nations agreement on arbitral awards, mak- age innovation and digital transformation,
ing it easier for companies to recover dam- Singtel has opened its FutureNow Innov- Industry digital plan
ages overseas. Japan’s new institution will be ation Centre (FIC). The centre has been Small and medium-sized logistics busi-
able to hear even disagreements between designed to advance the Singapore gov- nesses will find opportunities to take part
non-Japanese companies, if all parties agree. ernment’s industry transformation maps in projects that could benefit the entire
(ITMs) that focus on six key industry clus- industry through a newly revealed Indus-
Japan’s government has backed the crea-
ters, namely manufacturing, built environ- try Digital Plan (IDP), the Infocomm Media
tion of a specialized center to take on inter-
ment, trade and connectivity, essential do- Development Authority (IMDA) said. The
national arbitration hubs such as Singapore
mestic services, modern services, lifestyle. online plan will guide logistics SMEs to-
and Hong Kong. The organization likely will
not only help protect Japanese intellectual The centre will showcase some of the latest wards participating in projects and nation-
property, but also bolster trust in the coun- technology trends such as cloud, software- al initiatives that aim to “uplift the whole
try’s systems among foreign companies, fur- defined networks, data analytics, artificial sector”. These include in-mall distribution,
thering Tokyo’s ambitions of making Japan a intelligence (AI), cyber security, Internet federated lockers and the National Trade
global heavyweight in intellectual property. of Things (IoT), robotics and 5G telecom- Platform, the IMDA said.
munications technology. Set up to foster
https://asia.nikkei.com Logistics SMEs will receive step-by-step
innovation and digital transformation
advice on the digital solutions required at
REPUBLIC OF KOREA around Singapore’s $4.5 billion ITM initia-
each stage of their business growth in the
tive, 23 industries are set to benefit under
R&D spending in innovative digital economy. A new self-assessment
this initiative. Specifically, this is through
industries checklist will also be made available on
providing services and solutions to spur
SME Portal to help SMEs identify their digi-
The Republic of Korea will jack up investment innovation and assist enterprises to trans-
tal readiness and the digitalisation oppor-
in research and development (R&D) for in- form business models, unlock additional
tunities based on their needs. The IMDA
novative industries to help local companies growth opportunities redefine customer
will also continue to put up digital solu-
lead the fast-changing technology trends experiences and improve productivity.
tions it has pre-approved - such as in cus-
and create quality jobs, the government The FIC will also showcase smart home tomer management or data analytics - on
said. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and technologies, including voice-controlled Tech Depot, a one-stop platform for tech
Energy said it will expand support for five home systems and IoT for the consumer, solutions on the SME Portal website.
promising new industries -- autonomous which can be all managed through a single
vehicles, home appliances using Internet- platform. Furthermore, the centre will also Among the first projects that will be high-
of-Things t echnology, bio health, semicon- serve as a centre for collaboration between lighted under the IDP is a tripartite partner-
ductors and displays, and renewable energy technology partners from small and me- ship between the IMDA and VCargo Cloud,
-- by increasing the percentage of R&D in- dium enterprises as well as global technol- together with Bollore Logistics (Singapore),
vestment spent on these industries from the ogy leaders with Singtel and its customers, Dimerco Express Singapore and LCH Lock-
current 30 percent to 50 percent by 2022. leveraging on the 650 million consumers ton, to make use of digital technology to im-
across Australia, India, Indonesia, the Phil- prove efficiency. The TechSkills Accelerator
The ministry set aside 3.16 trillion won
ippines, Singapore and Thailand. (TeSA) programme - a SkillsFuture initiative
(US$2.96 billion) for this year’s R&D projects.
launched in April 2016 to train information
The government said it will put concerted To boost the research capability of the cen-
communications technologies professionals
efforts with related industries to develop tre, it will also link up with Singtel’s R&D labs
- will support the IDP. The IMDA, with support
emerging technologies and make use of with the National University of Singapore,
from the Singapore Economic Development
them in various areas. The Republic of Korea Nanyang Technological University, Ad-
Board and Spring Singapore, launched the
plans to put self-driving cars on its high- vanced Remanufacturing and Training Cen-
ways by 2020 and increase the number of Logistics IDP as part of the SMEs Go Digital
tre as well as Agency for Science, Technology
electric vehicles to 350,000 by 2022. It also and Research. In an effort to enhance skills Programme, and in support of the Logistics
seeks to expand investment in establishing and advance research is key areas, Singtel Industry Transformation Map.
decentralized energy infrastructure to raise has made recent strategic investments with https://www.businesstimes.com.sg
6 TECH MONITOR • Jul-Sep 2018Technology Market Scan
l In case of a domestic technology transfer,
VIET NAM in evaluating deductible expenses as the
the provincial Department of Science and contracts will be registered.
Registration of technology Technology is the registration authority. http://www.vietnam-briefing.com
transfer now mandatory In case it’s between aVietnamese firm and
Innovation network
According to the new Law on Technology a foreign country entity, the authority is
the Department of Technology Appraisal,
programme
Transfer dated 19 June 2017 and Decree
No. 76/2018/ND-CP which was issued on Examination, and Assessment under the The Programme of Connecting Vietnam
15 May 2018, registration of technology Ministry of Science and Technology. Innovation Network 2018, which gath-
transfer has been made mandatory from ered hundreds of talented Vietnamese
To examine the technology transfer agree-
July 1, 2018, in Vietnam. Earlier, registra- in the fields of science and technology,
ment, the government has set the fee
tion was only mandatory for technology was launched in Hanoi on August 19. The
equivalent to 0.1 percent of the total value
transfers which were restricted. Except event was jointly held by the Ministry of
of the agreement. However, it should not
for restricted technology transfers which Planning and Investment, the Ministry of
be less than VND 5 million (US$ 214) and
require specific permits, following are the Science and Technology, the Ministry of
not more than VND 10 million (US$428).
types of technology transfer that needs to Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of Edu-
Involved parties need to submit their regis- cation and Training. It saw the attendance
be registered with the state management
tration application within 90 days of the of by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.
agencies of science and technology.
agreement signing date. In addition to the
Minister of Planning and Investment Nguy-
l
Technology transfer from a foreign registration agreement, other supporting
en Chi Dung said that in an earlier meeting
county to Vietnam; documents required are:
with overseas Vietnamese talents in science
l Technology transfer from Vietnam to a l Original or certified copy of the tech- and technology the same day, Prime Min-
foreign country; and nology transfer contract; ister Phuc lauded their return, especially in
l A domestic transfer which uses State l Notarized or authenticated translat-
the era of industry 4.0 which poses both
capital/budget, excluding ones that ed copies of the technology transfer opportunities and challenges to the nation.
have already received the Certificate of agreement in Vietnamese;
l
Currently, the ministry is working with
Registration of Science and Technology Investment Registration Certificate
relevant ministries and sectors to build a
Task Outcomes. copies of both parties;
l Documents confirming the legal status
national strategy on industry 4.0, which
Technology is defined as a solution, pro- comprises the establishment of innov-
of the representatives of the parties to
cess, or know-how that may or may not be ation centres, and mobilisation of experts
the contract; and
supported by instruments and facilities to and scientists, he said, adding that the in-
l Power of Attorney, in case a third party
convert resources into products. Technol- novation network initiative has lured the
has been authorized to carry out the
ogy transfer is the transfer of the right to participation of more than 100 overseas
procedures.
own or use (part or whole) of a technology Vietnamese scientists so far.
from a party which has the right to transfer. Contracts signed before July 1, 2018, but
The proramme will gather overseas Viet-
renewed after July 1, must follow the new
If the transferred technology involves in- namese and domestic scientists who will
regulations. Once the application has been
tellectual property rights protection, the meet to exchange and share visions as well
filed, the competent authority has five work-
transfer will be carried out according to as strategies for scientific and technologic-
ing days in which it must either issue the
the Law on Intellectual Property. Involved al development in the sectors that Viet-
registration certificate or provide reasons
parties need to register for intellectual nam needs to accelerate in the coming
for refusal. In case an agreement is incom-
property rights and technology transfer time, Minister Dung said.
plete, the government authority needs to
separately.
inform the applicant within three working Meanwhile, Minister of Science and Tech-
The Vietnamese party is solely responsible days. If an agreement is being amended/ nology Chu Ngoc Anh laid stress on human
for the registration process. supplemented, the competent authority resource issue, seeing it as a competitive fac-
l Transfer from a foreign country to Viet- needs to inform the transferor within five tor to promote the country’s growth quality.
nam – the transferee; working days. The launching ceremony was followed by
l
Transfer from Vietnam to a foreign a dialogue on connection of science and
The new regulations will enable the gov-
country – transferor; and technology community, and policies on in-
ernment authorities to keep track of tech-
l Domestic transfer using State capital/ novation network connection in Vietnam.
nology transfers into Vietnam and assist tax
budget – transferee. authorities during audits and inspections http://en.nhandan.org.vn
TECH MONITOR • Jul-Sep 2018 7Technology Scan
Focus: Renewable Energy Technologies
ASIA-PACIFIC cells that could turn window into mini- decomposed from water by solar energy
ature electricity generators. The window- and making liquid fuel via carbon dioxide
AUSTRALIA compatible material reported in a study hydrogenation.
published on Tuesday in the journal Joule A 1,000-tonne industrialization of liquid
New wave energy technology could potentially double the energy effi- solar fuel synthesis project has been
New technology to measure ocean waves ciency of an average household. launched in Lanzhou, capital city of north-
and currents with greater accuracy than “Building-integrated photovoltaics are a west China’s Gansu Province.
ever before is being deployed off the Al-
great example of a market where silicon Liquid solar fuel is transformed and syn-
bany coast this week, as part of the new
photovoltaics, despite their cheapness thesised from carbon dioxide and water,
Wave Energy Research Centre, an initiative
and performance, are not the most ap- using solar energy as the sole energy sup-
led by The University of Western Australia.
propriate due to their dull appearance ply. The synthesis process provides clean
In partnership with the State Government,
and heaviness,” said the paper’s senior fuel, as well as utilizing greenhouse gases.
this project will place WA at the forefront
author Yip Hin-Lap, a professor of materi-
of marine renewable energy research and http://www.xinhuanet.com
als science and engineering at the South
technology and increase knowledge and
China University of Technology. “Instead,
understanding of ocean processes. Two
we can make organic photovoltaics into
INDIA
buoys will collect data on wave height, dir-
semi-transparent, lightweight, and color- Concentrated solar energy to
ection, period and surface current speed,
ful films that are perfect for turning win- produce hydrogen fuel
then transmit this data via satellite to the
dows into electricity generators and heat Researchers from the Indian Institute of
Wave Energy Research Centre, where sci-
insulators.” Technology Bombay have begun a new
entists will analyse it.
To construct a prototype capable of simul- study that is focused on determining the
UWA Wave Energy Research Centre Chief
taneously outputting electricity and pre- economic feasibility of solar-driven elec-
Investigator Dr Jeff Hansen said it would
venting excessive heating, the researchers trolysis used to produce hydrogen fuel. The
be the first time detailed wave measure-
needed to perform a three-way balancing study is meant to provide a framework for
ments in the near-shore area out of Al-
act between harvesting light for electricity how solar hydrogen production could be
bany would be collected using such su-
generation, blocking it for heat insulation, used in an economically viable manner.
perior instruments. “With swell and wind
and transmitting it as a window normally Hydrogen has gained some popularity
conditions looking favourable this week,
would. They put together a device that let in India in recent years, but still has sig-
the research team will deploy the instru-
the familiar visible portions of sunlight nificantly less support that other forms of
ments and use them to observe the mar-
through, turned back the infrared light, clean power and conventional fossil-fuels.
ine environment in far more detail than
ever before,” Dr Hansen said. and converted the near-infrared region The research team has conducted an eco-
in-between into an electric current. nomic analysis of an electrolyzer, which
The researchers have collaborated with
In theory, installing windows outfitted is powered by a concentrated solar en-
industry partner Carnegie Clean Energy
with dual electricity-generating and heat- ergy system. This concentrated solar en-
as part of the State Government funded
insulating properties could cut an average ergy system allows for high-temperature
Albany Wave Energy Project. Their data and
household’s reliance on external electric steam electrolysis. Researchers also calcu-
ocean models will improve the placement,
sources by over 50 percent. These dual- lated the levelized cost of hydrogen fuel.
survivability and performance of Carne-
function materials are still very much in Researchers discovered that the high-
gie’s CETO6 wave energy converter device.
The new home for one of the wave buoys is their infancy, but the authors expect them temperature steam electrolysis process
approximately 45 kilometres offshore from to pave the way to new beneficial tech- is 3% more efficient than typical photo-
the Albany wind farm at Sandpatch, where nologies. voltaic electrolysis. There was also a drop
water depth is around 350 metres. The sec- of approximately $4 in the overall cost of
http://www.xinhuanet.com
ond wave buoy will bob closer to shore at hydrogen fuel.
a depth of 30 metres, at the same location
Synthesis of liquid solar fuel Finding more efficient ways to produce
as Carnegie Clean Energy’s wave energy Chinese researchers have successfully hydrogen fuel has become a major pri-
converter device when it is installed. increased the scale of synthesizing liquid ority. Researchers throughout the world
http://www.news.uwa.edu.au solar fuel, taking a step forward to boost have begun experimenting with renew-
the use and output of renewable energy able energy in order to make hydrogen a
CHINA in the country. Researchers with the Da- more viable form of clean power. Solar has,
lian Institute of Chemical Physics under thus far, proven to be the most promising
Power generating windows the Chinese Academy of Sciences divided option. By using renewable energy, such
Chinese scientists developed a window the synthesis process of the liquid solar as concentrated solar energy, researchers
material with thin, see-through solar fuel into two steps: generating hydrogen believe that hydrogen production will no
8 TECH MONITOR • Jul-Sep 2018Technology Scan
longer be reliant on fossil-fuels or conven- which is a very complex model in solid (KAIST) has developed an energy storage
tional steam reformation. waste management,” said Aravind E S, a device that can operate after only 30 sec-
India is home to a robust solar market, research student at IIT Madras. “We found onds of charging. The new hybrid energy
where many promising projects have tak- that the current plastic waste manage- storage device utilises aqueous electro-
en form over the years. The Indian govern- ment systems were not working because lytes instead of flammable organic sol-
ment is eager to replace fossil-fuels with of the logistics involved; there were cost vents making it environmentally friendly
clean power and hydrogen may go a and space requirements that could not be and safe. It can also be used with portable
long way in making the country’s trans- met,” Selvaraj added. electronic devices as it facilitates a boost-
portation space more environmentally ing charge with high energy density.
The team was led by Divya Priya, assisted
friendly. Fuel cell vehicles have begun to by technical guide Professor Indumathi The device was developed by Professor
gain traction in China and other parts of Nambi of IIT Madras, and industrial men- Jeung Ku Kang and a team of scientists
Asia, and they will soon begin to estab- tor Sriram Narasimhan of Samridhi Foun- from KAIST’s Graduate School of Energy,
lish a presence in India. In order to ensure dation, a Chennai based NGO. Environment, Water, and Sustainability.
that these vehicles are successful, India has The team assembled fibre-like polymer
https://energy.economictimes.indiatimes.
been working to bolster its hydrogen pro- chain anodes and sub-nanoscale metal
com
duction capabilities. oxide cathodes on graphene to develop
http://www.hydrogenfuelnews.com
Clean energy from Sunn Hemp a hybrid energy storage with high en-
Researchers at the Indian Institute of ergy and power densities. Conventional
Solar powered system to aqueous electrolyte-based energy stor-
Technology (IIT) Kharagpur have tapped
convert plastic into fuel microwave radiation to create clean en- age devices have a limitation for boost-
Scientists from Indian Institute of Tech- ergy for large-scale use from nitrogen- ing charges and high energy density due
nology (IIT) Madras have developed a rich non-food Sunn Hemp plants. The IIT to low driving voltage and a shortage of
solar powered system to convert non- Kharagpur Bioenergy Lab team was led by anode materials. The research team came
recyclable plastic into fuel that can sub- Prof. Saikat Chakraborty, faculty at the De- up with new structures and materials to
stitute diesel used in generators, furnaces partment of Chemical Engineering and P K facilitate rapid speed in energy exchange
and engines. The technology - which con- Sinha Center for Bioenergy and researcher on the surfaces of the electrodes and
sists of a mobile unit that can collect and Souvik Kumar Paul, an IIT Kharagpur state- minimise the energy loss between the
process waste - currently yields around ment said. High-energy non-edible plant two electrodes. Anodes were made with
0.7 litres of fuel oil per kilogramme of sources such as Sunn Hemp have the po- graphene-based polymer chain materials,
plastic, researchers said. tential of making available biofuel on a graphene having a web-like structure that
large scale, as a replacement of fossil fuel. produces a high surface area, thereby al-
“India produces approximately 15,000
lowing higher capacitance.
tonnes of plastic waste in a day. Centralised The team successfully converted the non-
systems for plastic waste management can- edible lignocellulosic fibres (plant dry matter) With regard to cathodes, the team used
not work to effectively deal with this much of Sunn Hemp to biofuel precursors, an alter- metal oxide in sub-nanoscale structures to
plastic waste on a daily basis,” said Ramya native to land-based crops for biofuels, the elevate atom-by-ion redox reactions. This
Selvaraj, a research student at the IIT Ma- statement said. The entire conversion, which method realized higher energy density
dras in Tamil Nadu. “We thought that if the otherwise takes 8-10 hours, took 46 minutes and faster energy exchange while mini-
plastic can’t come to the industry, let the to be completed by using the microwave mizing energy loss. The device can be
industry come to the plastic,” Selvaraj said. reactors in the lab, the statement said. Sunn charged within 20 to 30 seconds using a
The conversion of plastic to fuel involves a Hemp is widely grown in the sub-tropical re- low-power charging system, such as a USB
process called pyrolysis - a thermochemi- gions of Bangladesh, Brazil, India, Pakistan, switching charger or a flexible photovol-
cal treatment that exposes the material Russia, Sri Lanka, the US and Uganda. taic cell. The developed aqueous hybrid
to high temperature in the absence of energy device shows more than 100-fold
The scientists have filed for a patent and higher power density compared to con-
oxygen, leading it to go through physical their findings have appeared in the global-
and chemical changes. This creates a low ventional aqueous batteries and can be
ly renowned journal Bioresource Technol- rapidly recharged. Further, the device
density fuel oil by breaking down the poly- ogy published by Elsevier.
mer chain of plastic at the temperature of showed high stability with its capacity
350- 500 degrees Celsius. This oil can be https://www.financialexpress.com maintained at 100 percent at a high
used as a substitute for diesel to power charge/discharge current.
generators, furnaces and engines. REPUBLIC OF KOREA The research, led by a PhD candidate Il
“Our major proposition was instead of Energy storage device Woo Ock, was published in Advanced En-
taking technology to waste, taking all A research team at the Korean Advanced ergy Materials on January 15th.
the waste to a decentralised technology Institute of Science and Technology https://www.renewableenergymagazine.com
TECH MONITOR • Jul-Sep 2018 9Technology Scan
SINGAPORE biofuels. The current technique is costly not expose green algae to additional nutri-
and also requires complicated chemical tional starvation and, thus, without apply-
Cheaper technique for biofuel pre-treatment. ing any significant stress to the cells. The
production team’s research paper has been published
The novel technique developed by the
A team of engineers from the National NUS team could potentially be a game- in the journal Energy & Environmental
University of Singapore (NUS) recently dis- Science. The researchers showed that the
changing technology for cost effective
covered that a naturally occurring bacter- production of hydrogen could be signifi-
and sustainable biofuel production. Spent
ium, Thermoanaerobacterium thermosac- cantly extended by simply exposing the
mushroom compost, typically composed
charolyticum TG57, isolated from waste anaerobic algal cultures to a train of strong
of wheat straw and saw dust, is the residual
generated after harvesting mushrooms, yet short light pulses, which are interrupt-
compost waste generated by mushroom
is capable of directly converting cellulose, ed by longer dark periods.
farming. The microorganisms in the waste
a plant-based material, to biobutanol. A “Under these conditions, algal cultures
are left to evolve naturally for more than
research team led by Associate Professor exposed to sunlight do not accumulate
two years to obtain the unique TG57 strain.
He Jianzhong from the Department of oxygen in the medium. In addition, algae
Civil and Environmental Engineering at The fermentation process is simple, and
steer the electrons resulting from the de-
NUS Faculty of Engineering first discov- no complicated pre-treatment or genetic
composition of water and charged by sun-
ered the novel TG57 strain in 2015. They modification of the microorganisms is re-
light into hydrogen production instead of
went on to culture the strain to examine quired. When cellulose is added, the bacte-
biomass accumulation. The process lasts
its properties. rium simply digests it to produce butanol
for, at least, several days and the maximum
as the main product. Moving forward, the
Assoc Prof He explained, “The production rate of the production of hydrogen occurs
research team will continue to optimise the
of biofuels using non-food feedstocks can during the first eight hours,” Kosourov said.
performance of the TG57 strain, and fur-
improve sustainability and reduce costs The research indicated clearly that a major
ther engineer it to enhance biobutanol ra-
greatly. In our study, we demonstrated obstacle to efficient hydrogen production
tio and yield using molecular genetic tools.
a novel method of directly converting is not oxygen but a strong competition be-
cellulose to biobutanol using the novel https://phys.org tween two metabolic pathways: carbon di-
TG57 strain. This is a major breakthrough oxide fixation leading to the biomass ac-
in metabolic engineering and exhibits a EUROPE cumulation and the hydrogenase enzyme
foundational milestone in sustainable and catalyzing photoproduction of hydrogen.
cost-effective production of renewable FINLAND
The new method developed by the re-
biofuels and chemicals.” Biofuel breakthrough searchers is valuable both for the basic re-
Traditional biofuels are produced from A research group from the University of search of the photosynthesis of algae and
food crops. This approach is highly costly Turku, Finland, has discovered an efficient for the research and development work of
and competes with food production in the way for transforming solar energy into the the industrial sector when producing new
use of land, water, energy and other en- chemical energy of biohydrogen through technologies for the large-scale produc-
vironmental resources. Biofuels produced the photosynthesis of green algae that tion of carbon neutral biofuels.
from unprocessed cellulosic materials function as cell factories. Molecular hy- https://oilprice.com
such as plant biomass, as well as agricul- drogen is regarded as one of the most
ture, horticultural and organic waste, are promising energy carriers due to its high UK
expected to meet growing energy de- energy density and clean, carbon-free use.
mands without increasing greenhouse Technique for more efficient
gas emissions resulting from the burning The leader of the research group, Yagut solar energy
of fossil fuels. These cellulosic materials Allahverdiyeva-Rinne, Associate Professor
Scientists from the University of Exeter
are in great abundance, environmental- of Molecular Plant Biology at the Univer-
have developed a method that has the
ly friendly, and economically sustainable. sity of Turku said, “When algal cells are first
potential to harvest three times more
incubated under anaerobic conditions in
Among various types of biofuels, biobu- photovoltaic (PV) energy compared with
the dark and then exposed to light, they
tanol offers a great promise as petrol sub- traditional systems by funnelling the en-
start producing hydrogen efficiently, but
stitute because of its high energy density ergy more efficiently, the university said.
unfortunately only for a few seconds.”
and superior properties. It can directly The technique “funnels” the sun’s energy
replace gasoline in car engines without The researchers at the University of Turku directly into power cells, such as solar
any modification. However, commercial decided to apply the knowledge retrieved panels or batteries. “The idea is similar to
production of biobutanol has been ham- from the basic research on the photosyn- pouring a liquid into a container, as we all
pered by the lack of potent microbes cap- thesis of algae and established a new know it is much more efficient if we use
able of converting cellulosic biomass into method for producing hydrogen that does a funnel,” said Adolfo De Sanctis, lead au-
10 TECH MONITOR • Jul-Sep 2018Technology Scan
thor of the paper. “However, such charge has not yet been refined and still contains so it can be added to the existing energy
funnels cannot be realised with conven- impurities. The second stage is a form of supply system for heating homes and
tional semiconductors and only the recent refining in which hydrogen is added un- powering industries. That would elimi-
discovery of atomically thin materials has der high pressure and heat, and serves to nate particularly harmful gases released
enabled this discovery,” De Sanctis added. remove contaminants such as sulfur, ni- by naturally decomposing manure when
According to the researchers, the innov- trogen and oxygen. However, hydrogen it is spread on farm fields as fertilizer and
ation could lead to solar panels that have is expensive, the two stages are energy partially replace fossil natural gas, a signifi-
intensive, and carbon waste is left in the cant contributor to global warming.
the size of a book and can power a family-
form of char and CO2 emissions.
sized house. The announcement says that “There are multiple ways we can benefit
the new technique has the potential to A process to reduce reliance on fossil fu- from this single approach,” said David
convert around 60% of the sun’s energy els that still produces the harmful green- Simakov, a professor of chemical engi-
into electricity, compared to around 20% house gas is counterproductive. Song and neering at Waterloo. “The potential is
for the current solar cells. his team set out to simplify the conver- huge.” Simakov said the technology could
sion process in a way that is sustainable, be viable with several kinds of manure,
The scientists devised a method to “fun-
cost-effective, and clean. “In our work, particularly cow and pig manure, as well
nel” electrical charge onto a chip. They
we’ve developed a process which simul- as at landfill sites.
used the atomically thin semiconductor
taneously produces and upgrades bio-oil
hafnium disulphide (HfS2), oxidized with To test the concept, researchers built a com-
in one step and without the need for high
a high-intensity UV laser, to engineer an puter model of an actual 2,000-head dairy
pressures,” says Song.
electric field that funnels electrical charges farm in Ontario that collects manure and
to a specific area of the chip, where they The researchers used methane instead converts it into biogas in anaerobic digest-
can be more easily extracted. of hydrogen for the purification process ers. Some of that biogas is already used to
and they used it directly in the crude produce electricity by burning it in genera-
https://renewablesnow.com
stage, but they had to chemically remove tors, reducing the environmental impact of
NORTH AMERICA the hydrogen from the methane during manure while also yielding about 30 to 40
the purification process since hydrogen is percent of its energy potential.
CANADA still needed to remove impurities. Using
the CLS, they developed a novel catalyst Researchers want to take those benefits a
Better fuel from biowaste significant step further by upgrading, or
that reacted with methane to trigger it to
Researchers have found a way to produce release hydrogen. They were faced with converting, biogas from manure into re-
a higher quality, more stable fuel from bio- a challenge because methane is a very newable natural gas. That would involve
waste, such as sewage, that is simpler and stable compound that doesn’t react with mixing it with hydrogen, then running it
cleaner than existing methods. “This puts many other compounds. through a catalytic converter. A chemical
biofuel closer to being a good substitute reaction in the converter would produce
The researchers call the catalyst they de-
for fossil fuels,” said Hua Song, an associ- methane from carbon dioxide in the biogas.
veloped HZSM-5. To improve its ability to
ate professor of chemical and petroleum Known as methanation, the process would
react with methane, they coated the sur-
engineering at the University of Calgary.
face of several samples of HZSM-5 with dif- require electricity to produce hydrogen,
Song and his research team recently pub- ferent materials. They then analyzed the but that power could be generated on-
lished the results of their research con- samples and studied the surface features site by renewable wind or solar systems,
ducted at the Canadian Light Source in using the bright light of the synchrotron. or taken from the electrical grid at times
the journal Fuel. “The world energy market of low demand. The net result would be
Initial studies using the catalyst in this new
is currently dominated by fossil fuels. With renewable natural gas that yields almost
approach for producing biofuels show it
increasing concern surrounding climate all of manure’s energy potential and also
is more efficient and has lower potential
change and dwindling resources that are efficiently stores electricity, but has only a
production costs than the current method.
associated with the use of fossil fuels, re- fraction of the greenhouse gas impact of
As well, carbon remains in the oil in liquid
newable energy sources are becoming in- manure used as fertilizer.
form which leads to a better quality bio-
creasingly desirable and are currently the
fuel that is more stable with significantly The modelling study showed that a
fast growing energy source,” wrote Song in
less greenhouse gas emissions. $5-million investment in a methanation
the research paper.
http://biomassmagazine.com system at the Ontario farm would, with
Currently, biowaste is converted into bio- government price subsidies for renew-
fuel in a complex two-step process. Methanation technology able natural gas, have about a five-year
The biomass is first converted into a bi- Researchers at the University of Waterloo payback period. A paper on modelling of
ocrude oil using a chemical and thermal are developing technology to produce re- a renewable natural gas generation facility
process. Crude oil, in general, is oil that newable natural gas (RNG) from manure at the Ontario farm, which also involved a
TECH MONITOR • Jul-Sep 2018 11You can also read
