NANYANG Technological University (NTU) on Tuesday launched its ambitious blueprint to find sustainable ways to meet mankind's energy needs for the future.

NTU Provost Bertil Andersson announced today that the first of six research centres under the university's proposed Energy Research Institute@NTU (ERI@N)(ERI@N) will open in July, to explore areas such as advanced fuel cell technology, wind and tidal energy, and charge storage.

He was speaking at the opening ceremony of a workshop held at the Nanyang Executive Centre that attracted leading researchers from around the world.

'At NTU, we need to prepare ourselves for the challenges ahead and build on our undisputed research strengths, especially in engineering.

ERI@N has been set up to create synergies between our existing activities and mobilise our interllectual resources in all aspects of energy related research, including business studies, economics, communication and political and security studies,' Prof Andersson said.

The workshop aims to serve as a platform for researchers to exchange ideas and collaborate on future projects at the new facility.

The first of the research centres, the Centre for Sustainable Energy Research, cost $60 million to set up, and was funded by NTU, the Economic Development Board and various private sector investors.

It will be housed for now in a 1,000 sq m space at NTU's Research Techno Plaza, and will eventually have about 70 scientists and research associates collaborating on multidisciplinary projects encompassing economics, science and policy studies.

Over the next two years, five more research centres will be set up to study areas such as geothermal and solar-thermal energy, improving energy efficiency in maritime transportation, and effective policy instruments to address energy security.