NanoMalaysia Inks MoU With Three Companies, Explore Use Of Agricultural Waste

PUTRAJAYA, Aug 1 (Bernama) -- NanoMalaysia Bhd (NMB), an agency under the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry (MOSTI), has inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with three companies to explore the use of agricultural waste to produce cellulose nanofibers for advanced engineering applications for industrial and end-user market deployment.

NMB sealed the MoU with SEED Tech Sdn Bhd (STSB), XMU Jiageng Education Development Sdn Bhd (XMU), and Henan Yujian Building Renovation Technology Co Ltd (YJ).

 Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Chang Lih Kang said the MoU signals a shared vision for a greener, more innovative Asia, where science and technology serve both economic development and environmental stewardship.

"Malaysia generates approximately 168,000 tonnes of agricultural waste daily, a figure that is expected to increase with growing food demand and land use change. Yet, less than 10 per cent of this biomass is currently upcycled into industrial applications.

"Through this collaboration, we are tapping into a significant economic opportunity by transforming this 'waste' into a source of national wealth in line with the Bioeconomy Blueprint and MOSTI Advanced Materials Technology Roadmap," he said in his speech at the event here today.

NMB was represented by chief operating officer Mohamad Hafiz Zokipli; STSB by its director Zhang Liang; XMU by Xiamen University Malaysia vice-president Prof Zhang Ying and YJ was represented by its general manager Sun Lili.

Chang said Malaysia aims to increase gross expenditure on research and development (GERD) to 2.5 per cent of gross domestic product from 1.04 per cent by 2030.

He said public-private and cross-border partnerships like this are critical levers to achieving that target.

Chang said this collaboration sets a pathway for commercialisation from technology licensing and intellectual property generation, to talent exchange, joint ventures, and product development across Malaysia, China, and the wider Asia-Pacific.

"It amplifies MOSTI’s commitment to facilitating lab-to-market transitions, reducing the valley of death between research and industry.

"It marks our transition from a resource-dependent economy to a knowledge-driven, innovation-led economy, in direct support of the Malaysia MADANI Government’s pillar of “Kemampanan” (Sustainability) and the National Industrial Master Plan 2030 (NIMP 2030)," he said.

Meanwhile, a statement issued by MOSTI said the partnership focuses to scale up from-lab-to-market to leverage sectors such as construction, automotive, and engineering.

The use of nanofibers as additives, such as reinforcing binders for polymer composites, rubber and others, can provide interlaminar fracture resistance of between one and 10 per cent, while the use of nanofibers as binders can provide structural strength of 30 per cent, leading to savings of up to 50 per cent. 

The project leverages the respective strengths of all four parties, including research and development capabilities and industry expertise to drive high-impact outcomes for Malaysia and the region, the statement said.

-- BERNAMA