Speech by Minister Desmond Lee at the Urban Solutions & Sustainability R&D Congress 2023
Oct 4, 2023
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Good morning! Thank you for joining me for the opening ceremony of the Urban Solutions & Sustainability (USS) R&D Congress!
The USS domain, under the Research, Innovation and Enterprise (RIE) 2025 plan, addresses challenges in sustainability and resilience, and the transformation of our built environment.
Collaboration generates better outcomes
To build cities that are sustainable, resilient, and liveable, we need strong, effective collaboration between government, industry, and academia.
Let me share some examples of such partnerships:
a. As we tap on more renewable energy sources, we need to find ways to recycle and dispose the used materials safely when they reach the end of their lifespan.
b. I am happy to note that earlier this year, SCARCE, which is the name of the joint research laboratory set up by NTU and the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission, has entered Phase 2 of its work.
c. Over the next 5 years, it will scale up solutions to recycle and recover critical metals from e-waste such as lithium-ion batteries, and solar photo-voltaic panels, which were initially developed in Phase 1 for test bedding and industrial adoption.
Another example: Our buildings account for about 20% of Singapore’s carbon emissions and we are constantly finding ways to reduce it.
a. In this regard, BCA has collaborated with NUS to innovate new cooling methods for spaces. Together, the team has devised a hybrid approach to harness a combination of natural ventilation, air movement from ceiling fans, and the air-conditioning system for cooling. This enables buildings to achieve thermal comfort while reducing energy consumption.
b. The project has successfully completed its proof-of-concept, achieving up to 55% reduction in energy consumption from cooling, and has now progressed into the test bedding phase. This is part of our effort to push boundaries through innovation, to achieve our net zero target for buildings.
Breaking frontiers through closer partnerships
Close collaboration has been key to our ability to push boundaries to deliver impactful real-world solutions. This is especially important in urban planning where there are multiple stakeholders and diverse planning scenarios. In fact, the number of partnerships that we will announce today, is a testament to the growing importance of partnerships.
First, URA is working with the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) on a 5-year strategic collaboration that focuses on urban planning research. This partnership aims to enhance urban planners’ decision-making, so that they can better address emerging trends and disruptions in a fast-changing and complex environment.
Second, the Centre for Liveable Cities and Singapore-ETH Centre will also be signing an MOU later. This collaboration aims to build capacity in urban science in our agencies and the research community, enabling us to translate scientific know-how into actual strategies to improve urban planning.
This will be extremely useful not just for Singapore but for many other cities seeking a science-based approach to planning and development.
As we continue to chart a more sustainable development pathway, it will be important to understand the long-term impact of our research efforts. Take, for example, the City in Nature research pillar that was newly added during RIE2025.
The first project awarded to NTU will kickstart the long-term monitoring of key ecosystem processes, such as carbon and nutrient cycling within our forests and urban green spaces.
This will enable us to better understand the impact of our City in Nature efforts and refine our greening strategies.
There will be more upcoming grant calls, which researchers and industry partners can look forward to.
I hope this Congress would provide a good opportunity for all of you in the USS ecosystem to gain new perspectives from different disciplines, understand what schemes are available for you to tap on, and cultivate networks which can be useful when you submit research proposals.
Driving adoption in the industry
The pace of innovation has also accelerated, and while we pursue new ideas, industry adoption remains crucial. This is where government agencies and other partners can proactively bridge the gap between innovation and actual implementation.
For example, to ensure resilience in food security, SFA’s Marine Aquaculture Centre teamed up with GovTech to develop an AI-assisted counting model to monitor the production of rotifers, which are a type of zooplankton that fish larvae feed on. Farmers can now access this application via a mobile web application (like Telegram) to support their hatchery production and take steps for early intervention.
You may recall that we announced the set-up of the Built Environment Technology Alliance (BETA) at the R&D Congress in 2019. BETA was designed to promote stronger collaboration between industry and IHLs.
This collaboration model enables BE firms to build competitive capabilities and “pull” their partners along the value chain, while making good use of the capabilities of our IHLs. Our hope is that ideas or solutions will then have a greater chance of deployment and value capture.
This is a shift from what we have traditionally been doing, where government agencies specify the challenge statements through grant calls. With BETA, firms take the lead to approach relevant IHLs to work on solutions.
I am happy to share that BETA has supported 6 projects thus far, covering domains such as innovation in deep foundation and excavation, as well as CO2 sequestration in concrete production.
In tandem, we have the Built Environment Accelerate to Market Programme or BEAMP, which brings together inventors and firms to fast-track the innovation process for new solutions.
The results have been encouraging. For instance, BEAMP has helped local innovator Fabrica AI to secure upcoming residential contracts with Singaporean contractor Woh Hup, to deploy its automated floor tile grouting robot which can potentially double the speed of grouting works.
Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are key in transforming the Built Environment sector. To help them innovate and capture growth in new areas, we have worked with Enterprise Singapore to establish Centres of Innovation which provide SMEs with access to technical expertise and facilities.
We will be setting up a Centre of Innovation for Built Environment – Robotics & Automation, led by Temasek Polytechnic and Ngee Ann Polytechnic to help SMEs build capabilities by adopting and developing robotics & automation technologies.
This new COI follows the earlier launch of the COI for Built Environment - Advanced Materials last year, which was jointly established by Republic Polytechnic, Singapore Polytechnic and Temasek Polytechnic.
We have seen some early success. One example is the collaboration between ALTO Construction & Engineering Services and Singapore Polytechnic. Together, they are developing a solution to improve the performance of Fibre Reinforced Polymer to strengthen modern concrete structures, while complying with fire-safety regulations.
Collaboration opportunities don’t stop here. You can look forward to the upcoming launch of the BE Innovation Hub at BCA’s Braddell Campus later this month.
The Innovation Hub is a collaborative space where solution providers can showcase cutting-edge solutions and do test bedding in a real-world setting. Like-minded stakeholders can also come together to network and learn more about commercially available solutions.
Conclusion
Science and technology is an integral part of our economic strategy, and gives our firms a competitive advantage. But we know that the journey to commercialisation is not easy.
It is increasingly important to tap on the collective strengths of the Government, IHLs, research institutes and firms, to translate solutions into outcomes.
Do seek out opportunities, tap on the initiatives available and embrace innovation. We will work with you and continue to strengthen our research, innovation and enterprise efforts within the USS ecosystem.
I hope the programme over the next 2 days will inspire you to continue experimenting and innovating. I wish you all a fruitful event. Thank you.