Energy Systems Catapult has been leading the Innovating for Net Zero Buildings project, a UK-government funded project to support collaboration between UK innovators and Singaporean partners in the building decarbonisation space. The project was funded by the Tactical Fund, administered by Department for Science, Innovation & Technology (DSIT) with the British High Commission in Singapore as the key nodal agency.

The aim of the project was to promote the transition to Net Zero buildings in Singapore by:

• demonstrating combined solutions and relevant technologies between the UK and Singapore through pilots and test bed environments;
• facilitating research and commercial partnerships between UK and Singapore.

The challenge

With limited natural resources and a commitment to high living standards, Singapore has been actively seeking energy-efficient solutions since 2005. Energy Launchpad has set out a range of challenges when Innovating for Net Zero Buildings:

• Develop and showcase innovative solutions and transferable business models
• Advance research on Net Zero buildings and build capacity in UK and Singapore
• Promote innovation testing and evidence-based policy making
• Support scale up through close interaction with the private sector
• Facilitate partnerships and commercial relationships beyond the life of the project
• Establish a forum for dialogue and knowledge exchange

The solution

Energy Launchpad took a five step approach to project delivery:

1. Research into the main Net Zero challenges in the built environment in Singapore, as well as the key actors and stakeholders
2. An Innovator Challenge Call to identify UK SMEs with relevant solutions
3. Identification of Singaporean partners who were interested in collaboration in this space, and supported introductions to UK SMEs
4. The development and running of demonstration and pilot projects
5. Reporting, knowledge sharing and dissemination

The innovation

Based on our research and discussions with key actors we identified four focus areas for the Challenge Call:

1. High efficiency cooling
2. Innovative solar generation
3. Green data centres
4. Smart systems

Four principal SMEs were supported.

CrowdHouse Energy developed Helios Volt, a solar PV car park canopy system that uses high efficiency panels in an easy to install modular design.

Ecocentric whose Numen system is an easy to install electricity data acquisition and analysis platform for energy management and asset condition monitoring.

OakTree Power’s energy management system audits, monitors, manages and optimises electricity consumption with a cloud based artificial intelligence platform and real time reporting.

Thermoelectric Conversion Systems have developed a solid state, high efficiency cooling system which fits into existing air ducts and replaces external and roof mounted air conditioning systems.

The impact

The project has realised a number of impacts, of which the principal ones are:

• Ecocentric and Thermoelectric Conversion Systems have delivered demonstration projects with partners in Singapore with Ecocentric going on to enter a commercial agreement with Cyclect Engineering to bring their Numen system to market.
• CrowdHouse Energy has delivered a feasibility study with PSA Corporation Limited that could lead to direct commercial agreements and benefits.
• A wider pool of UK innovators has benefitted from increased visibility and understanding of the Singaporean market.

Next steps

The Catapult continues to work with the British High Commission in Singapore and other innovation agencies and is antcipating further programmes to develop shared value and delivery for the programme.

As a leading country in AI and technology development Singapore and the UK have many areas of potential collaboration and we aim to explore these over the coming months and years.

Ben Harrington, Business Development Director at Ecocentric, said: 

“Ecocentric has been working with Energy Systems Catapult since the spring of 2023 primarily on how we penetrate the Singapore market for our AI solution Numen.

“The work included being part of a business delegation to Singapore in June 2023 and a follow up trip in October for our first installation in the region with Energy Systems Catapult part-funded. Their support and knowledge on how we approach the Singapore market, find new opportunities, develop our solution and business model has been invaluable and it’s helped us get a strong foothold in a market with which we’d previously had little experience.

“We’re now planning a further trip to the region with our first commercial client and a strong pipeline of other opportunities. Whilst we’ve worked hard to develop these opportunities, we unquestionably couldn’t have done it without the support of Energy Systems Catapult.”

Thermoelectric Conversion Systems explained:

“The programme provided a very valuable entry point to the Singapore market, enabled us to hone our offering specific to Singapore whilst understanding the offering in the UK and how that can be adapted to Singapore. The incubation support has been valuable in sanity-checking and also exploring new business models and partnerships relevant to TCS.”

CrowdHouse stated:

“The team at Energy Systems Catapult were extremely supportive before, during and after the visit to Singapore. When we were on the ground in Singapore the team did everything in their capacity to organise key meetings and get us in front of the right people to help us progress conversations with various stakeholder in SG business. Their connections in the country were extremely helpful and considerate and have been invaluable.”