S$6m awarded to five water firms to fund R&D

Mustafa Shafawi Channel NewsAsia 30 Jun 10;

SINGAPORE : Five water companies will receive about a total of S$6 million worth of research funds to carry out R&D to improve their product offerings to the global water industry.

This was announced by the Environment & Water Industry Programme Office (EWI) on Wednesday following the launch of the first Request-for-Proposals (RFP) on Industry-Led Research in November last year.

A total of six proposals were submitted by the five companies - Siemens Pte Ltd, Ultra-Flo Pte Ltd, Natflow Pte Ltd, OptoTech (S) Pte Ltd and DHI Water & Environment (S) Pte Ltd.

Of the 5 companies, two are Singapore-based companies while the rest are strongly represented by offices in Singapore.

S$1 million was awarded to each proposal. DHI Water & Environment received funding for two proposals.

Technology giant Siemens and home-grown company Ultra-Flo aim to improve their range of membrane products by developing novel membrane types and new membrane processes for applications like brackish and seawater desalting.

DHI Water & Environment and OptoTech both plan to leverage on their existing capabilities to produce the next generation of sensors for microorganisms and other water parameters.

These sensors will interface with advanced software, so as to enable water agencies worldwide to monitor their waters easily and effectively.

Natflow intends to develop a combined heating, cooling and desalination system by integrating these three technologies, which are currently used in isolation. Such an innovation can contribute to both energy and water efficiency.

By 2015, the environment & water sector is expected to contribute $1.7 billion to Singapore's gross domestic product and employ 11,000, with a majority in professional and skilled categories. - CNA /ls

Multimillion research funds for 5 water firms
Today Online 1 Jul 10;

SINGAPORE - Five water companies will receive about $1 million worth of research funds each to carry out research and development on improving their product offerings to the global water industry.

This was announced by the Environment and Water Industry Programme Office yesterday.

Technology giant Siemens and home-grown company Ultra-Flo aim to improve their range of membrane products by developing novel membrane types and new membrane processes for applications like brackish and seawater desalting.

DHI Water and Environment, which was awarded funding for two proposals, and OptoTech both plan to leverage on their existing capabilities to produce the next generation of sensors for microorganisms and other water parameters.

Natflow intends to develop a combined heating, cooling and desalination system by integrating these three technologies, which are currently used in isolation.

By 2015, the environment and water sector is expected to contribute $1.7 billion to Singapore's gross domestic product.