Innovation Challenges

IMPROVING THERMAL COMFORT AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY AT CLEAN TECH ONE

The Energy Research Institute @ NTU (ERI@N) offices at Clean Tech One are cooled via a centralized chiller which distributes chilled water to individual Fan Coil Units (FCUs). The flow rate of the chilled water circulated is controlled by a solenoid valve in the return line of FCU – controlling the flow rate is essential for efficient cooling of a space. One common complaint made by occupant is that the offices can be “overcooled”, leading to thermal discomfort. This in turn leads to both energy wastage and thermal discomfort.

Challenge

ERI@N is looking for solution(s) that eliminates thermal discomfort from overcooling, while at the same time maintaining or improving the energy efficiency of the cooling system.

What We Are Looking For

The proposed solution should:

1. Readily integrate with the existing systems at Clean Tech One, with minimal down time (max 9 days, i.e two weekends)
2. have a TRL of >=7
3. achieve thermal comfort at least 95% of the time
4. achieve energy savings of 5-10%

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DATA-LED MIXED USE WASTE HANDLING

In line with Singapore’s Zero Waste Masterplan of 2019, nationally we have pledged to achieve by 2030 a 70 % overall recycling rate and to reduce the amount of waste sent to the Semakau Landfill by 30 % of its per capita per day rate.
In the short term, a step change to 20 % reduction in waste-to-landfill per capita per day by 2026 is targeted.
Currently. food waste recycling, nationally, is at around 18 % and only about 4 % of plastics are recycled. It follows that by addressing food waste and plastic waste in general mixed use/commercial facilities shall increase the amount of waste going to landfill.
Surbana Jurong Campus, the global headquarters of Surbana Jurong Group, seeks to be a market-leading demonstration of holistic sustainability (Green Mark v2015 Platinum “Super Low Energy”, WELL Platinum certified, and etc.).
The premises have been operational since June 2023 with existing infrastructure and services to handle waste and recycling. In addition to the commercial office space, the premises host food & beverage (F&B) units catering to up to 2,000 pax. Moreover, food marketplace app-based vendors deliver food and beverages to Campus with delivery packaging. most of which is being discarded without efforts to rinse and recycle by the buyers and high levels of contamination. With gardens bordering the Jurong Eco-Park, and multiple roof terrace planting and beautiful indoor courtyard gardens, there is generally manageable but not insignificant source of horticultural litter waste too.

Challenge

Surbana Jurong Campus is setting itself the challenge to achieve a diversion from landfill rate of 90% or greater and whilst Surbana Jurong Group is the anchor tenant, there are third party tenants including F&B suppliers that should collaboratively and enthusiastically involved in the programme with insignificant increases to service fees and costs to those tenants.

What We Are Looking For

1. A smart/intelligent data-led solution such as IoT devices allowing granular data capture by waste stream, weight and location for baselining, trending and hotspotting on SJ premises. The solution needs to be easily taught to and operated by front line cleaning/waste handling staff.
2. A solution or data service which allows the operator to optimise the waste servicing of the premises. Able to show the performance trends over the study period.
3. Hygienic infrastructure which allows the operator to safely handle food and beverage waste (organic waste from both plant and animal products) with solid and/or liquid effluent which can be certified as safe for agricultural use.
4. Promoting or fostering a connection of SJ Campus into a wider circular economy (eco-system) where such composted/digested waste is of value to community or commercial partners; to serve as a model at scale.
5. To create such value that downstream waste / recycling haulage companies licenced by NEA can plug-in such that waste and recycling from SJ Campus can be “passported” or tracked all the way to the material recovery facility and/or landfill destination. To provide means to accurately measure for “diversion from landfill” rates.

For the avoidance of doubt, this call for an integrated solution across the value chain involving building users, building managers, first-line domestic staff, waste haulers and material recovery operators.

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REAL TIME MONITORING AND ANALYTIC SYSTEM OF IN-BUILDING WATER DISTRIBUTION

Since April 2024, PUB has risen potable water price by 20 cents, from $2.74/m3 to $2.94/m3.PUB will further increase the potable water price by additional 30 cents ($3.24/m3) from 1 April 2025 onwards. To prevent wastage and ensure water is used efficiently, it is important to monitor all water usages within the building to allow early detection of leakages, illegal or abnormally high usages.
JTC is seeking innovative solutions to enable real time monitoring of the domestic water consumption and chilled water consumption improve overall site.

Challenge
Certain sections of the domestic water distribution pipes maybe concealed within false ceilings and behind walls. As a building ages, there might be potential leaks in the pipes which will pose an issue if not discovered in a timely manner.

Efficient flush valves and water fittings are used for in common area toilets. Due to wear and tear, the flush valves and water fittings might malfunction and result in high wastages if not discovered early.

There are also taps in common areas. These are used by the conservancy team for common area washing. Although these taps are locked, there are occasions where the locks are broken and illegal used.

What We Are Looking For

The proposed solution should be:

1. Able to gather accurate real-time information of areas of interests
2. Able to track the total water supplied to the building, the actual water consumed within all the water end uses and total water leaving the site
3. Water management assessment results are to be presented/visualised in an easy-to-understand format
4. Use machine learning to be able to predict a pipe leak (before it happens)
5. Use machine learning to identify spikes/unusual usages, analyse and propose potential root cause (e.g. leak, location, illegal tapping, etc).
6. Produce diagnostic reports, recommendations and follow up actions that is simple and understandable to a non-technical person
7. Able to provide estimated cost avoidance due to the predictive maintenance/early detection
8. Ensure minimal disruption to tenants during installation and operation
9. Ensure minimal disruption to the existing domestic water supply system

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IMPROVING OUTDOOR THERMAL COMFORT AT JID

Jurong Innovation District is a 620-ha next-generation industrial district developed by JTC to support the transformation of manufacturing industries. The estate spans across five precincts, including Bulim, Bahar, Cleantech Park, Tengah and NTU. As a car-lite district, JID features an 11km Sky Corridor where the community would be connected to key transport nodes by walking, cycling or future autonomous vehicles.

Challenges

With the high air temperatures and relative humidity in Singapore, energy efficient climate adaptation measures are required to cool the outdoor spaces along the Sky Corridor. This is especially critical in areas of congregation (e.g. plazas) and thoroughfares to improve the experience of users and encourage higher footfall. Proposals can include active and/or passive solutions that improve outdoor thermal comfort while minimizing energy use and emissions.

What We Are Looking For

1. Proposes a sound methodology to improve thermal comfort
2. Solution is able to track outdoor site conditions such as weather and occupancy (via sensors, etc)
3. Proposal includes a measurement plan
4. Proposal includes anticipated energy use and carbon footprint
5. Proposed solution is able to respond dynamically ( to external factors hourly (min)
6. Proposed solution is able to be monitored remotely and controlled
7. Proposal ensures no adverse impact on environment (i.e. air) quality
8. Solution has minimal to no waste heat generation
9. Proposal includes a desktop study (high level approximation will do) on the scalability, cost and space requirements should the system be implemented at scale.  

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CARBON NEUTRAL HORTICULTURAL PROCESSES

JID will feature more than 15 ha of park spaces and will have an estate-wide green cover target of 40%.

The horticultural processes includes a range of activities such as soil preparation, tree planting, pruning and trimming, fertilization and soil management, pest & disease management, irrigation and watering and overall tree care.

JTC is looking for solutions that can address any part of the horticultural process, including the use of carbon-negative soil amendments.

Challenges

Steep cost premiunm of carbon-neutral horticultural solutions and products. For carbon-negative soil amendments, deployment outside the laboratory has not been done before in Singapore.

What We Are Looking For

The solution should:

1. Have no adverse impact on plant health.

2. Indicate if any Singapore Standards are applicable and shows how the solution complies with it.

3. No recurring maintenance efforts or costs (e.g. routine top-up of soil additive).

4. If carbon-negative: have its carbon sequestration intensity be certified by an accredited lab or recognized carbon removal body such as VERRA.

5. Cost premium of no more than 50% over conventional processes.

6. Include experimental methods to obtain the best scenario for implementation at JID.

For proposed solutions involving soil amendments:

7. Measurements in terms of (1) plant height and plant girth and (2) foliar nutrient concentrations (N, P, K) should be performed.

8. Measurements in terms of soil total carbon, organic content, pH and electrical conductivity to verify the permanence of the sequestered carbon.

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