Singapore: $400m for research to make life in city better

Cheryl Ong Straits Times 28 Jun 11;

SCIENTISTS or commercial companies with good ideas on efficient energy use, making buildings more eco-friendly, or safeguarding Singapore's food supply can now tap into a fund for research into these areas.

A $400 million kitty has been set aside for this.

Announcing this yesterday, Minister of State for National Development, Brigadier-General (NS) Tan Chuan-Jin, said: 'Which other city-states would feel the pressures of urbanisation more keenly than us? I think Singapore has to blaze this trail to find our own innovative solutions.'

He was speaking at the inaugural Urban Sustainability R&D Congress at the Biopolis.

Three-quarters of the fund - $300 million - will be for research into energy-related issues.

This 'Energy Resilience for Sustainable Growth' fund, to come from the $1 billion earmarked by the National Research Foundation (NRF) last year, will pay for studies into affordable alternatives to fossil fuels or those that find ways to use fuels more efficiently.

Of the remaining $100 million, half will come from the NRF for studies into protecting Singapore's food supply and raising the nation's food output. Applications for this have been received and are being evaluated, said a spokesman.

The remaining $50 million will come from the Ministry of National Development (MND) Research Fund for the Built Environment.

This money will pay for research into areas such as constructing buildings that use less electricity, improving transport systems, and protecting the environment.

A spokesman for MND said it is drafting the call for proposals.

At the congress yesterday, BG Tan also handed out the inaugural Minister for National Development's R&D Awards to three statutory boards that showed creativity in incorporating urban sustainability in their projects.

The Housing Board's Treelodge @ Punggol and the Building & Construction Authority's Zero Energy Building were given Distinguished Awards, while the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority's Vertical Farming project in Sembawang won a merit prize.

Research companies and institutes hailed the availability of these funds for research.

Dr Raj Thampuran, the executive director of the Science & Engineering Research Council of A*Star, said: 'Research allows us to be fast adopters, quick followers, innovators and enables to us gain the knowledge to shape solutions to our needs.'

Hitachi Asia's Research and Development Centre general manager Nobutoshi Sagawa said the money will stimulate positive growth in the sector, while Ms Lily Toh, managing director of local green-tech firm Winrigo, said the money is a godsend for small outfits like hers.

'It's quite difficult to get funding for research because many grants look at a company's turnover, favouring big companies over small- and medium-sized ones like ours, so I support this new funding as it will help SMEs and benefit the community and consumers,' she said.

The congress, which brought together people from the public sector, industry and researchers to discuss issues facing cities like Singapore, ends today.

Government to commit S$400m on urban sustainability R&D
Vimita Mohandas Channel NewsAsia 27 Jun 11;

SINGAPORE: The government will commit S$400 million to spearhead research and development (R&D) in urban sustainability.

This was announced at the first ever Urban Sustainability Research and Development Congress on Monday morning.

The congress will see some 800 participants from government agencies, research institutes and the private sector discuss R&D responses to urban sustainability challenges.

The congress will bring together 12 government agencies, which will discuss R&D priorities in five key areas including Sustainable Urban Living, and Urban Ecology and Food.

Opening the congress, Minister of State for National Development and Manpower, Tan Chuan-Jin, said one of the key challenges facing Singapore is creating sustainable urban living given our space constraints.

"Every year, we have many young Singaporeans coming out into the workhouse, setting up families and we need to house them. And we need to find a creative way to organize ourselves from an infrastructural perspective. But I think it's not just the building space, it's really about the living space - how do you integrate everything together."

Participants will also collaborate on projects in "living labs" such as Punggol Eco-Town, CleanTech Park, Jurong Lake District and Marina Bay.

Each living lab will present different opportunities. Punggol is a residential test-bed, Clean Tech Park is an industrial testbed while Marina Bay and Jurong Lake District will present opportunities for test-bedding in a mixed use setting.

Brig-Gen (NS) Tan added that S$300 million will go towards driving Energy Resilience for Sustainable Growth.

The aim is to develop cost-competitive energy solutions for deployment within 20 years so that Singapore can improve energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions and increase its energy options.

To address urban sustainability challenges, the Ministry of National Development (MND) will do a S$50 million top up to its research fund, while the National Research Foundation (NRF) will earmark S$50 million to develop food supply resilience and sustainability.

The NRF has set aside this sum under its Competitive Research Programme Call on "Meeting Future Food Demands for Singapore." Proposals are currently under evaluation. This will complement MND's S$10 million Food Fund to enhance food supply resilience.

Brig-Gen (NS) Tan also presented the Minister for National Development R&D awards to recognise and support technological innovations.

The Housing and Development Board's Treelodge@Punggol and BCA's Zero Energy Building received the Distinguished Award while the Vertical Farming prject by the Agri-Food and Vetrinary Authority won the Merit Award.

- CNA/fa
S$400m boost for urban sustainability
Vimita Mohandas Today Online 28 Jun 11;

SINGAPORE - In the search for urban sustainability here, energy resilience looks set to be the key focus.

Of the S$400 million the Government has committed to spearhead research and development for a sustainable Singapore, three-quarters of the amount will go towards energy solutions that can be deployed within 20 years.

The announcement yesterday at the inaugural Urban Sustainability R&D Congress highlighted five priority areas of sustainable urban living, urban mobility, green building, urban ecology and food.

Already, projects could soon be underway to meet Singapore's future food demands, with proposals now under evaluation by the National Research Foundation under a S$50-million programme set aside for this.

Another S$50 million will come from the National Development Ministry, which is doubling its research fund to cover other aspects of urban sustainability for the nearer term.

But long-term cost competitive energy solutions that can improve efficiency, reduce carbon emissions and increase energy options will get the most resources.

And yesterday's R&D congress kicks off a new platform for government, research institutes and the private sector to discuss which R&D responses can best overcome Singapore's urban sustainability challenges.

Some 800 participants, including from 12 government agencies, participated yesterday.

Opening the congress, Minister of State (National Development) Tan Chuan-Jin said space constraint was another key challenge.

"Every year, we have many young Singaporeans going into the workforce, setting up families. We need to house them and we need to find a creative way to organise ourselves from an infrastructural perspective," he told reporters.

"But it's not just the building space, it's really about the living space - how do you integrate everything together."

The set-up of the congress will allow for collaboration on some specific projects, such as Punggol Eco-Town, CleanTech Park, Jurong Lake District and Marina Bay.

These "living labs" present different opportunities: Punggol is a residential test-bed, CleanTech Park is an industrial test-bed, while Marina Bay and Jurong Lake District are mixed-use settings.

And as these sites undergo development, the Government wants companies and researchers to focus on applying cutting-edge technologies that can come onstream in the near term.

"The next chapter of the Singapore Story must be about us confronting these challenges with the same human ingenuity as we did before," said Brigadier-General (NS) Tan.

"Because there are few city states in the world that will feel the pressures of urbanisation more keenly than us, Singapore cannot rely on ready solutions from others and must lead the way to find innovative solutions."

To recognise and support such efforts, he presented the Minister for National Development R&D awards yesterday for three technological innovations.

The Housing and Development Board's Treelodge@Punggol and the Building and Construction Authority's Zero Energy Building received the Distinguished Award, while the Vertical Farming project by the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority won the Merit Award.

Looking to live smaller, closer
Esther Ng Today Online 28 Jun 11;

Big, sprawling cities such as Tokyo and Mexico City will be a thing of the past, some experts said yesterday at the inaugural Urban Sustainability R&D Congress here.

Living smaller and closer are the keys to sustainability, they said, because shrinking the distance between people and their destinations would reduce energy use, carbon emission and waste.

But what population density before a city becomes unliveable? For instance, Singapore's density is now 95 people per hectare, while Hong Kong's is 400.

"It's possible to increase that density but that's a political question," said Curtin University of Technology's Professor of Sustainability Peter Newman.

"It boils down to whether people want that density to increase or not."

While higher population density is usually seen as a threat, he said this need not always be so: "Density enables us to multiply sustainability and take advantage of better waste management, better transport links and local services."

Santa Fe Institute's Distinguished Professor Geoffrey West added that spreading out a city makes its population more "car-attendant", while spending more than two hours commuting is "intolerable".

He referred to the "Marchetti Wall" - the growing realisation that people do not like to spend more than one hour each day travelling to work.

"That's why we're not going to see any more Tokyos or Mexico City," said Prof Newman.

While Singapore has made progress in urban sustainability, the experts felt that the Republic needs to think beyond its shores.

"The urban transformation, the policies are just so Singapore-centric - there ought to be five to 10 per cent value-added to it." said Prof West.

"Singapore needs to take a leadership in big thinking, in influencing business, in culture and science and with that, it can be a truly great city like Venice, London or New York." ESTHER NG

$400m boost for R&D in urban sustainability
Awards were also given out to three MND statutory boards
Mindy Tan Business Times 28 Jun 11;

THE government will commit $400 million to spearhead research and development in urban sustainability, said the Ministry of National Development (MND) at yesterday's inaugural Urban Sustainability Research and Development Congress.

Of this, $300 million will be set aside for the first National Innovation Challenge, on building 'Energy Resilience for Sustainable Growth'.

The aim is to drive energy resilience and specifically develop cost-competitive energy solutions for deployment within 20 years, thus allowing Singapore to improve energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions, and increase energy options.

In addition, MND will be topping up the MND Research Fund with an additional $50 million, bringing their total commitment to- date to $100 million.

The fund will support research that covers other aspects of urban sustainability beyond energy.

Finally, the National Research Foundation will set aside $50 million under its Competitive Research Programme Call on 'Meeting Future Food Demands for Singapore'.

Proposals are currently under evaluation, and are expected to contribute to the sustainability of Singapore's future food supply. This will complement MND's current $10 million Food Fund to enhance food supply resilience.

Guest of Honour, Brigadier-General (NS) Tan Chuan-Jin, Minister of State for National Development and Manpower, said: 'Like many other cities in the world, we will need to grapple with fresh challenges, from climate change, competition for resources, and opportunities from mega cities, changing demographics, and growing demands on urban services . . . I think Singapore has to blaze this trail to find our own innovative solutions.'

Mr Tan also presented the Minister for National Development's R&D Awards to three MND statutory boards to recognise and support technological innovations.

The Building and Construction Authority's Zero Energy Building (ZEB) and the Housing & Development Board's Treelodge@ Punggol were the Distinguished Award winners.

The Vertical Farming project by the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority won the Merit Award.

ZEB, a test-bed for clean energy technologies, is the first building in South-east Asia to be fully retrofitted with green building technologies. It achieved zero net consumption in its first year.

The biennial Urban Sustainability R&D Congress brings together government agencies, research institutes, and private sector companies to discuss R&D in national urban sustainability issues and collaborate on projects in 'living labs', such as Punggol Eco-town, CleanTech Park, Jurong Lake District, and Marina Bay. The two-day event, which hosted 800 participants, ends today.