Taiwanese electronics company Lite-On is collaborating with the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore to develop technology for more efficient energy management for homes and the power grid.

The four-year partnership aims to develop digital technology such as smart grid physical systems; a smart energy router for power grid support; a smart home energy management platform; and a data fusion software platform that combines artificial intelligence (AI) and big data for use in smart home applications and power grids.

These advances seek to address the industry demands for technologies that can help save energy and cost, improve the efficiency, flexibility and resilience of power grids, and reduce Singapore’s carbon footprint.

The work is being done through Lite-On Singapore, part of the Lite-On Group, a public-listed global technology enterprise which was established in Taiwan in 1975. Lite-On is a major player in the electronics and optoelectronics manufacturing sector and has an annual revenue of NT$164.83bn.

“As a world-leading provider in opto-semiconductor, power supply management and key electronic products and moving forward to become the provider of choice, we are delighted to partner with NTU Singapore on important technological development projects that are key to creating innovation that will help achieve sustainable urban solutions and enhance quality of life,” said Hai Huang, general manager of Lite-On Singapore.

The research direction is in line with Lite-On’s strategy to invest and provide value to its business partners in the emerging industry mega trends of optoelectronics, cloud computing, 5G and AIoT, EV charging and smart grid technologies.

The collaboration will draw on NTU Singapore’s expertise in digital and urban technology and is aligned with the university’s sustainability efforts to build a more liveable future as outlined in its NTU 2025 strategic plan.

“NTU Singapore’s partnership with Lite-On to develop innovative technologies aims to bring wide-ranging benefits for tomorrow’s homes and societies,” said Lam Khin Yong, senior vice president for research at NTU Singapore. “The university recently unveiled its 15-year sustainability manifesto which aspires to achieve carbon neutrality by 2035, and this collaboration is one of many partnerships that enables NTU to play a key role in building a more resilient and sustainable environment. It is also an example of the university’s continued push for translational research, by working closely with industry to ensure that our research outcomes can lead to significant commercial impact.”

The four key projects arising from this partnership are:

• Development of smart grid physical systems – high frequency bi-directional inverter and converter with silicon carbide (SiC) technology – that will withstand higher temperatures and increase energy efficiency and power density.
• Creating a smart energy router to manage flexibly the power flow among renewable energy sources, energy storage and electric vehicles, making power grids smarter with energy intelligence. This will enable improved power quality and a reliable, cost-efficient, safe and sustainable grid operation.
• Designing a smart home energy management platform for the consumer electricity market that leverages data to drive energy savings and carbon reduction.
• Leveraging data fusion to share and visualise information comprehensively to accelerate the process of integrating technology across cross-disciplinary applications. This data fusion software platform aims to meet the needs of an evolving range of unique global market pressures and challenges from decarbonisation to digitalisation and intelligence. Specifically, the platform aims to increase reliability, security and energy efficiency in homes and power grid operations, reduce operational costs and impact on the environment.

“Our collaboration with NTU Singapore is another important step towards designing technology of the future and to provide the smart grid and smart home energy management infrastructure needed to advance a connected living, working and entertainment space,” said Yang Jing, R&D head for smart grid at Lite-On Singapore.