A*STAR and VDL Enabling Technologies Group announce strategic partnership

A*STAR and VDL Enabling Technologies Group announce strategic partnership to accelerate technology and manufacturing development across fusion and extreme-environment systems

Singapore, October 9, 2026 - The Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore's lead public sector R&D agency, and VDL Enabling Technologies Group (VDL ETG), part of Dutch industry-concern VDL Groep, today announced a strategic partnership. Together they will accelerate technology and manufacturing development for fusion and extreme-environment systems.

The partnership will be led by A*STAR Future Energy Acceleration and Translation (FEAT) Centre and VDL ETG Singapore. A*STAR FEAT Centre develops next-generation technologies for critical components in extreme environments, with research expertise in advanced materials, manufacturing and diagnostics. The cooperation brings these capabilities together with VDL ETG’s advanced manufacturing and industrialisation expertise. The partnership was formalised today, with the signing of an agreement by Professor Lim Keng Hui, Assistant Chief Executive, Science and Engineering Research Council, A*STAR, and Geert Jakobs, CEO of VDL ETG.

Through this cooperation, both organisations will jointly engage end users across fusion and adjacent sectors to identify opportunities for innovation, scale-up and deployment. The partnership aims to strengthen Singapore’s capabilities in emerging areas such as fusion and advanced energy systems, and create opportunities for local enterprises to participate in future global supply chains. Leveraging a Singapore-based ecosystem and a global network of partners, customers and expertise, the cooperation also supports VDL’s long-term growth ambitions.

The partnership has identified three initial areas of cooperation spanning materials, diagnostics and advanced manufacturing.

1. Corrosion, focuses on material durability by screening and validating materials and protective coatings for use in aggressive high-temperature environments. 

2. Diagnostics, focuses on system observability by translating plasma measurement physics into robust, industrial-grade diagnostic hardware.

3. Additive Manufacturing, focuses on component realisation, leveraging advanced manufacturing technologies to produce complex multi-material and actively cooled components that meet the demanding requirements of fusion and other extreme-environment applications.

Geert Jakobs, CEO VDL ETG: “While fusion and advanced nuclear technologies represent relatively new markets for us, VDL ETG has extensive experience in developing and manufacturing complex mechatronic systems for the global high-tech industry. Many of the underlying challenges, such as precision engineering, extreme operating conditions, and system integration, closely align with the expertise we have developed over the years. We believe that breakthrough innovations are realised through cooperation. A strong ecosystem, built on cooperation between research institutes, industry and technology partners, is essential to successfully bring these technologies from concept to industrialisation.”

“Fusion systems operate under demanding conditions, placing stringent requirements on the performance and reliability of materials, components and diagnostics. Working with VDL ETG allows us to bring real-world engineering and industrial requirements into the technology development process, strengthening the translation of our research towards solutions that can be scaled up and deployed,” said Dr Andrew Ngo, Centre Director, A*STAR FEAT Centre.