The waste and resource industry is heavily reliant on manual sampling and sorting processes. Currently, there is little to no visibility on waste composition at each stage of the sorting process – from infeed all the way to output line including quality control and residue line. This makes it impossible for waste managers to take informed actions to manage and optimise processes to increase recycling rates. This technology offer is an artificial intelligence (AI) waste recognition system that uses cutting edge computer vision to digitise waste to monitor and audit waste at a macro scale. With an average materials recovery facility (MRF) processing over 1k tonnes of waste per day, this technology allows for 100% of it to be monitored continuously 24/7. Furthermore, it can provide waste analytics and new insights previously unavailable to waste managers, which in turn reduces the cost of manual sampling, increase product and recovery quality, and improves operational efficiencies.

The technology offer is an autonomous robot navigation software for indoor ground mobile robots. The software serves as a robot mobility enabler for robot manufacturers and builders to deploy robots faster. The software is designed to address the challenges of robot navigation when deploying mobile robots in complex and dynamic environments.

The choice of substrate for agricultural applications is crucial to ensure optimal growth of the crops. For instance, peat has traditionally used as a growing medium to produce crops due to its fertility and ability to provide the necessary conditions to support growth. However, peatlands are running out and unable to cope with the global demand for increased food, hence there is a need to seek for sustainable alternative substrates. The technology is a three-dimensional (3D) dry but wettable substrate formed through the chemical reaction between natural substances such as clay, humus, and polysaccharides to form a matrix and incorporated with cellulosic fibers. The cellulose fibers can be derived from several waste streams including wood, coconut, straw, and bamboo to name a few. The 3D substrates can be customisable according to the type of crop and is biodegradable and compostable, releasing beneficial substances for soil and microflora at the end-of-life cycle. It has been successfully tested as a growing medium for fungi (Lentinula spp), lettuce, corn, and wheat. This technology is cost-effective and suitable for the vertical farming sector. It may also be extended to bioremediation applications. The technology owner is interested in co-development, test-bedding and licensing collaborations in Singapore.

This cell encapsulation technology is unique, versatile, and can be applied for a wide range of applications. It enables encapsulation of probiotics (bacteria and yeast) in natural cellulose capsules. The membranes of the capsules are permeable, allowing for free diffusion of nutrients/growth media across the membrane into the capsules, and the release of any bio-factors produced by the encapsulated probiotics. As a result, the probiotics can grow, fill-up and remain viable inside the capsules. This enables very high cell-to-capsule material ratio and is one of the main advantages over other technologies. This bioencapsulation has a significant potential for delivering probiotics. Importantly, encapsulation of probiotics provide a very high degree of protection from stomach acid and bile juices. The end product can be freeze-dried, leading to high viability of probiotics during extended shelf storage and transportation. The freeze-dried product can be readily rehydrated to reactivate the encapsulated probiotics without any damage to the capsule integrity. These probiotic capsules can be used for various sectors including food additives, nutraceuticals, wellness, animal feed, agriculture, cosmetics etc. The technology provider is seeking partners who have interests in this bioencapsulation technology for food/feed and topical grade encapsulated probiotic products.

Pest and disease and climate change pose a major threat to future cocoa production. Up to 40% of the annual global cocoa harvest is lost to pest and disease and climate change will exacerbate losses by exposing trees to more frequent climate extremes and new pests and diseases. These losses mean not only a loss of revenue from lower yields but wasted inputs such as irrigation, fertiliser and labour. Traditional methods of monitoring crops in terms of both health and yield rely on manual labour. In the case of cocoa, in-season monitoring of yield is based on regular, manual counting of pods at different stages of maturity. Similarly, field scouting is used to monitor pests and disease. These methods are not only costly but also prone to human error. Crop health monitoring and pod counting solutions that enable continuous, real-time, in-season tracking could allow for more accurate monitoring and measurement with fewer labour resources.  Digital collection of data would also enable long-term records to be developed to better understand yield challenges to cocoa in a changing climate.     

A spent hen is a commercial layer chicken that has over peaked its optimal egg-laying potential. When hens reached the end of their economically viable life, they are usually converted into meat products. However, the meat has a high amounts of heat-stable collagen content, leading to a tough texture, and high insoluble protein and tissues that are difficult to process by conventional heat treatment. The company is keen to explore different technological solutions that can tenderise the meat, with minimal nutrient loss and a short production time of less than 1 hour.

As well as creating new well-being snacks, we also focus on improving the nutrition and ingredients of the global brands and local jewels already in our broad portfolio. In essence, this is about reducing or removing what people don’t want and adding more of what they do. Snacking has always had a role in people’s lives, but that role is expanding and evolving as they become busier than ever (at home or on the go), as the definition of snacking continues to expand, and as people become more conscious of the overall well-being of self and planet. Moreover, people increasingly want to feel good about the snacks they eat – knowing that they not only taste delicious but also mindful of the implications to mind, body, and planet. We want to help consumers easily enjoy the right snacks throughout their day and inspire them to snack mindfully so they can savor and feel good about each and every snack. As a part of this effort, we are always looking for ingredient solutions that consumers expect, understand and are familiar with; that are authentic, natural and minimally processed; and are free from additives or preservatives.

Good agricultural practices form part of the armoury against pests and diseases which reduce yield losses by promoting healthy crop growth and improved tolerance of stress including attack from pest and diseases. For example, optimising the soil microbiome has been shown to increase the nitrogen fixing capability of microbes found in the root system of some crop species. There are also other natural approaches currently available that can successfully control diseases and pests. For example, endophytic Trichoderma martiale strain ALF 247 is used to control black-pod rot in cocoa, although in many cases further development is required to provide economically viable methods for biocontrol at scale. Another example of a natural approach that has been successfully brought to market is the production of peanuts with a reduced level of aflatoxin through the application of a competitive strain of A. flavus. This strain is not capable of making the aflatoxin and out-competes the toxin-producing strains naturally present, thereby lowering levels to 3% of what it would otherwise be in shelled, edible-grade peanuts. In many cases, it is thought that this natural pesticide has sufficient efficacy but with the added advantage of much lower levels of detrimental side effects compared to the standard synthetic chemicals. Chemical fertilisers, particularly nitrogen, are a major source of greenhouse gas emissions both in the production phase and on-farm. To sustainably increase yield, there is a need to improve efficiencies of nutrient use, reduce losses and ideally identify low carbon nutrient sources. The company is seeking sustainable methods that can reduce the amount of agrochemicals being used, and/or its environmental impact.