TECH OFFERS

Boron is an essential micronutrient necessary for the growth and development of plants, animals, and humans, while also playing a critical role in industries such as manufacturing, agriculture, and semiconductors. However, while beneficial in trace amounts, excessive boron levels can be toxic. High concentrations in drinking water pose significant health risks, particularly to reproductive and developmental systems, while boron contamination in industrial water supplies can degrade process efficiency and product quality. Current methods for boron removal, such as reverse osmosis and ion exchange, face significant limitations. Reverse osmosis struggles to remove boron efficiently, especially in seawater desalination, often requiring multiple stages and high energy consumption to achieve acceptable levels. Ion exchange resins pose low loading capacity and require massive harsh chemicals for regeneration.  The proposed boron absorption technology provides a solution that efficiently removes boron from diverse water sources, including seawater and wastewater. It effectively reduces boron levels to meet stringent standards, such as drinking water limits of less than 0.5 mg/L. The technology aligns with sustainability goals, consuming fewer chemicals and exhibiting strong recovery stability. Additionally, the proposed absorbent is flexible, customizable and compatible with various water treatment applications. The technology owner seeks partnerships to integrate this solution into existing water treatment systems or collaborate on industrial-scale demonstration projects to address boron contamination across multiple sectors. High Efficiency: Effectively reduces boron concentrations in various water sources, including seawater and wastewater, meeting stringent standards (e.g., <0.5 mg/L for drinking water). Sustainability: Consumes trace chemicals during the process and offers robust regeneration stability. Flexible & Customizable: Sponge-like composite, elastic and flexible, allowing easy scalability for large-scale applications. Cost-Effective: The technology lowers operational costs due to its high performance and reduced chemical usage. Desalination Plants: Particularly useful in seawater desalination, where boron concentrations must be reduced to meet drinking water standards. Drinking Water Systems: Ensures that water meets strict regulatory standards. Industrial Wastewater Treatment: Removes boron from industrial effluents, especially in sectors that release boron-laden waste, ensuring compliance with environmental regulations. Semiconductor Industry: Used to purify water in semiconductor manufacturing, where trace amounts of boron can affect production quality. Superior Boron Removal Efficiency: Achieves boron concentrations below 0.5 mg/L, meeting stringent drinking water standards, which is a challenge for existing methods like reverse osmosis and ion exchange. Cost-Effectiveness: The high-performance absorbent minimizes chemical input during regeneration, contributing to both cost reduction and sustainability. Robust Recovery and Stability: Exhibits strong regeneration stability over >15 cycles, maintaining its high performance. boron removal, column adsorption, low environmental footprint, flexible, sustainable Environment, Clean Air & Water, Filter Membrane & Absorption Material, Sustainability, Sustainable Living

The increasing use of fats and oils in food processing has led to higher concentrations in industrial effluents, overwhelming traditional wastewater treatment systems and clogging sewer pipes, which disrupts business operations. Commonly used methods like pressurized floating separation are limited and often result in incineration, increasing waste management costs. Rising treatment costs, odor control, and waste management remain significant concerns for factory operators. This technology uses an innovative "organic treatment method" with powerful microorganisms that decompose fats and oils directly from wastewater. These microorganisms can rapidly degrade various fats and oils, including plant, animal, and fish oils, as well as trans fatty acids, even at concentrations over 10,000 mg/L, using a microbial symbiotic system. Efficiently degrade various fats and oils, including plant, animal, fish oils, as well as trans fatty acids. By decomposing fats and oils directly, it reduces the need for physical separation and incineration, cutting down on industrial waste management costs. This approach also supports sustainable waste reduction and mitigates the risk of clogged sewer pipes. Technology has demonstrated the stable performance of oil decomposition in wastewater throughout a year in a field test at a food oil factory.  The technology owner seeks collaboration with food, oil, and other plants with oily wastewater and wastewater treatment facility providers looking for organic solutions for end users. The technology integrates a decomposition tank with activated sludge treatment, where fats and oils are directly degraded and eliminated by the microorganisms. This setup, positioned upstream of the activated sludge tank, simplifies the overall waste treatment process compared to conventional methods, significantly reducing both the initial construction costs for new facilities and the ongoing costs of treating oily sludge. To ensure stable decomposition, a daily addition of the fats and oils-degrading microorganisms at 1/1000 of the wastewater volume is recommended. This on-site equipment, replenished monthly with microbial inoculate, an activator, and nutrients, amplifies the microorganisms 100-fold before introducing them into the decomposition tank, allowing for efficient and manageable wastewater treatment. The technology can be applied in fields that require oil and fat degradation via a sustainable solution. Food Industry: Treatment for food processing plants with high oil and fat content, effective for managing fatty and oily waste from food related garbage (vegetables oils and animal fats). Wastewater Treatment facilities: Wastewater treatment systems looking for sustainable fat and oil degradation technologies. Cosmetics: Treatment of oils, fat, waxes or for cleaning operations. The global market of fats and oils processing is estimated to be 1 trillion USD. Degradation Capability: This approach uses a single decomposition tank upstream of the activated sludge treatment to directly degrade wide range and high concentrations of both animal fat and vegetable oils. Cost Efficiency: The simplified treatment process reduces the need for extensive facility construction and lowers ongoing operational costs.  Reduced Environmental Impact: By eliminating fats and oils at the microbial level, this method significantly reduces the volume of industrial waste, aligning with sustainable waste management goals. Proven Performance: Demonstrated year-round stable performance in field tests at a food oil factory, successfully substituting traditional pressurized floating separation facilities and reducing wastewater treatment costs. Environment, Clean Air & Water, Biological & Chemical Treatment

Indoor vertical farming is pivotal for addressing future food challenges, particularly in arable land-scarce countries. One common method is hydroponics, which uses mineral and nutrient solutions in a water-based platform to grow crops. To optimize the crop yield and to reduce the man work hours required, it is important to automate crop health monitoring and replenishing of specific nutrients. Currently, these tasks are labour-intensive and subjective. While some imaging techniques exist for detecting plant stress and chlorophyll monitoring, a complete system covering all aspects is still lacking. For nutrient analysis, tools like pH and electroconductivity meters can only detect a change in the nutrient composition to start a feedback loop but are unable to determine the specific nutrient component or deficiency level. This technology is a comprehensive quantitative monitoring system integrating imaging spectroscopy and laser-based elemental spectroscopy to quickly identify the crop growth stages, alert crop stresses (tested on several lettuce species) and quantify specific nutrient levels in the nutrient supply. This allows for reduced man work hours and improvement of crop yield. Complete crop health monitoring through combined leaf, root, and nutrient supply monitoring, with automated replenishment Real-time in-situ component wise nutrient monitoring capability with high sensitivity (in ppb levels) enabling automated selective nutrient replenishing Non-invasive and non-contact, no sample preparation required Modular sub-systems allowing for easy integration with existing systems Machine learning capability for improved spectral library creation, enabling rapid and efficient monitoring   Applications validated at lab scale: Automated hydroponic crop monitoring in large indoor agricultural farms Inline, real-time nutrient monitoring of nutrient solutions Other applications tested at experimental POC scale and shown to be more rapid and accurate than existing methods: Real-time water quality monitoring Post-harvest quality determination of crops Trace elemental detection in body fluid   Offers full-spectrum monitrong for both crop health and nutrient supply, covering both leaf and root systems Enables automated, real-time nutrient replenishment with precise, component-wise monitoring at ppb sensitivity levels Features modular subsystems and easy integration with existing setups, supported by specific spectral libraries and machine learning for efficient monitoring and classification   Hydroponics, Nutrient Monitoring, Non-destructive Monitoring, Urban Farming, Indoor Farming, Spectroscopy, Imaging Life Sciences, Agriculture & Aquaculture, Foods, Quality & Safety, Environment, Clean Air & Water, Sensor, Network, Monitoring & Quality Control Systems

Access to clean and safe drinking water is essential for health, yet millions of people worldwide still lack this necessity. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), over 2 billion people globally use drinking water sources contaminated with feces, leading to severe health consequences. Unsafe water, along with inadequate sanitation and hygiene, is estimated to cause 485,000 diarrheal deaths each year. Water purification technologies face significant challenges, especially in decentralized systems lacking the efficiencies of large-scale operations. They often have a substantial carbon footprint due to energy-intensive processes and reliance on chemicals. Existing portable devices primarily use filtration and have a limited lifetime on-site, with little opportunity for cleaning to restore its performance.  Developed by a research team, this technology effectively addresses the above challenges by employing electrochemical methods that generates strong oxidizing agents to kill micro-organisms present in raw water and potentially degrade organic pollutants that conventional portable reactors cannot remove via filtration. Due to its working mechanism, the device is self-cleaning and does not need regeneration. By harnessing solar energy and activated carbon, this chemical-free purification approach is not only environmentally friendly but also perfectly suited for deployment in remote areas, developing countries, and disaster-stricken zones where traditional water treatment infrastructure is lacking. The technology owner is looking for collaborations with local SMEs to co-develop scaled systems and deploy it through disaster relief organizations, government agencies and non-profit organizations in selected developing countries.  Power Source: Solar-powered, enabling operation in off-grid and remote areas, resulting in reduction of operational costs and ensures continuous, sustainable water purification Electrochemical Reactor: Anode: Mixed Metal Oxide (MMO) anode which generates strong oxidizing agents to degrade certain recalcitrant pollutants Cathode: Activated Carbon, enhancing contaminant removal through absorption and electrochemical processes Chemical-Free Operation: Eliminating the need for chemicals, making it more sustainable, safer and more cost effective Contaminant Removal: Organic Contaminants: The technology can effectively remove organic pollutants, with 65% of an initial 50 ppm phenol concentration being removed within 60 minutes proven in a prototype system. Coliform Reduction: Electrochemical treatment rapidly reduces coliform levels to meet water reuse guidelines of less than 10 CFU/100 mL in just 3 minutes. Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD₅): The system is capable of bringing BOD₅ levels within guideline standards in as little as 15 minutes. Water Treatment: Provides clean water in areas without conventional water treatment infrastructure  Humanitarian Aid: Supports disaster relief and NGOs in emergencies like natural disasters and refugee camps. Rural Development: Serves remote and rural areas, especially in developing countries without centralize facilities. Mobile units: Portable purification for troops in harsh or remote environments, ideal for off-grid communities, emergency preparedness and mobile operations needing reliable water purification. Sustainable Power Source: Solar-powered, reducing reliance on external energy sources and ensuring operation in off- grid locations Chemical-Free Operation: utilizes electrochemical methods, environmentally friendly Effective Contaminant Removal: Capable of degrading recalcitrant pollutants and organic compounds Environment, Clean Air & Water, Sanitisation

Maintaining clean air on ships is crucial for the health and well-being of passengers and crew, as well as for the proper functioning of sensitive equipment. Due to the structural specificity of ships and higher reliance on mechanical air conditioning than natural ventilation, addressing indoor air quality issues is particularly important. Advanced air purification solutions would be able to effectively address a range of airborne contaminants, including particulate matter, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and biological pollutants, ensuring a safer and more pleasant environment on board. A Korean startup has developed an air sterilisation and purification system tailored specifically to the challenges of maritime environments that excels in delivering clean, safe, and compliant air quality solutions. They enhance health and safety, optimise operational efficiency, and contribute to a better overall experience for passengers and crew, while also meeting regulatory requirements and supporting environmental sustainability. The company is seeking collaborators from the maritime and built environment sectors, as well as HVAC and IoT companies, to expand their applications and explore integration of their technologies into existing HVAC systems. The technology consists of the following key features: A seamless three-step purification and sterilisation process using UV-C lamp, carbon filter, and HEPA filter Engineered housing design that increases air’s retention time, providing a wider and denser air distribution compared to a stand-type air purifier Utilises UV-C rays at a wavelength of 254 nm, ideal for disrupting the DNA and RNA of bacteria, without generating ozone Strong sterilisation capability through uniform dispersion of UV-C rays and a direct contact sterilisation method to maximise the effectiveness, achieving up to 99.8% removal of airborne viruses and bacteria Double filters remove up to 96.3% of major hazardous substance, including ammonia, acetic acid, acetaldehyde, toluene and formaldehyde  Can be retrofitted to existing diffusers The solutions have been successfully implemented on various types of ships and can also be applied to buildings, healthcare facilities or public areas on land where large gatherings occur. Potential applications include, but not limited to, the following: At sea: Ships (Existing / New) On land:  Healthcare facilities Educational facilities Commercial real estate Residential real estate Tailored for effective operations under the unique conditions found at sea Engineered housing design for enhanced air distribution and extended exposure time, allowing more thorough sterilisation of airborne particles  Enhanced health and safety contributing to the well-being and safety of passengers and crew Optimised operational efficiency leading to cost savings and improved reliability of critical ship systems Enhanced passenger experience by providing a more comfortable and pleasant on board environment Environment, Clean Air & Water, Sanitisation, Mechanical Systems, Sustainability, Sustainable Living

Leaks in water pipelines are a common problem for utility companies. In the utility sector, the term “real losses” refers to actual physical water leaks that occurs on transmission and distribution mains, leakage and overflow at utility storage tanks and leakage on service connections up to the water meter. These non-revenue water losses cause a significant economic loss even to some of the most well-managed water distribution systems in the world. To manage and reduce water loss, utility companies carry out preventive maintenance, perform active water network monitoring by using noise loggers, smart meters, flow/pressure meters to collect useful data. Another proactive approach is to employ state of the art leak detection and localisation technologies such as acoustic leak detection (hydrophones), accelerometers, or the use of robots/endoscopes. Such approaches often face the challenges of false alarms, inaccurate leak pinpointing, limited exploration range and high cost of long-term monitoring. Developed by a South Korea-based startup, the proposed technology herein relates to an AI-aided exploration robot for underground/buried pipeline diagnosis for leaks, cracks, corrosion, scale, surface damage and other anomalies using image, audio, pH and LiDAR sensor data. Unlike conventional robots, the exploration robot is designed to be relatively small (smallest being 4.4 cm diameter x 11 cm length) to enable direct inspection of the inside of small diameter water pipelines. Designed to complement hydroacoustic technology, the exploration robot also addresses the current challenge of short explorable distance of about 100 m by offering up to 3 km exploration range. The startup is seeking to work with utilities or companies providing services to utilities to perform trial preferably in Singapore and explore long term collaborations in terms of customising solutions to specific applications, as well as technology licensing and revenue sharing through joint development with Singapore-based partners. Consist of two types of tethered exploration rovers: 1) Small robot equipped with image, sound and pH sensors, and 2) Robot equipped with LiDAR equipment. Designed to navigate bends and angles within pipelines, the robot is capable of inspecting water pipes with diameters ranging from 50 mm to 300 mm. Based on the collected data, the system performs AI-aided diagnosis of anomalies of up to 5 classes, i.e., Normal Pipe, Weld, Corrosion, Scale, and Surface Damage, along with a water pipe deterioration score and recommendation for pipe cleaning and/or replacement cycle. Capability to develop 3D maps based on image and other sensor data to enable digital twin-based asset management solution for the water distribution network and facilities. Utilities or public agencies that operates and maintains the water distribution network. Facilities that are close to its useful life: for early warning / prediction of the cleaning and replacement cycle of pipes. Future development for oil and gas pipelines applications. As of 2018, the global water industry generated about $1087.4 billion, accounting for about $600 billion in capital expenditures and operational expenditures for water and sewage-related facilities. Singapore's smart city and infrastructure management market is growing rapidly, and it is expected to reach billions of dollars by 2025. In particular, the water supply and infrastructure management market constitute a significant portion, estimated at several million to tens of millions of dollars annually. The nationwide water leakage rate in Singapore is around 10%, which is a substantial loss for a small city-state. Efficient and accurate pipeline inspection and maintenance powered by AI image analysis and digital twin. Exploration robots equipped with multiple types of sensors including LiDAR to generate 3D maps, with industry leading exploration range of up to 3 km. AI-driven robot inspects water pipelines in real-time, detecting issues such as leaks, corrosion, and blockages without requiring service interruptions, which ensures a continuous water supply and minimises costly manual inspections. Water pipes, Abnormal signs, Exploratory robot, 3D maps, Digital twin Environment, Clean Air & Water, Sensor, Network, Monitoring & Quality Control Systems

Controlling both outdoor and indoor air pollution is crucial for protecting human health and the environment. Outdoor air pollution from industrial emissions and vehicle exhaust contributes to respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, global warming, and environmental degradation. Indoor air pollution can also cause chronic respiratory conditions and other health issues. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), outdoor air pollution causes approximately 4.2 million premature deaths annually, while indoor air pollution accounts for around 3.8 million premature deaths each year. Traditionally, wet scrubbers are used to reduce air pollution, ensuring regulatory compliance and protecting human health. However, they have drawbacks such as scaling, fouling, inefficient pollutant removal, and generating solid waste. These issues lead to frequent maintenance, high operational costs, and environmental pollution. This technology addresses these pain points by utilizing an array of water jets without the need for packing materials. This innovative solution offers more efficient pollutant removal, reduced maintenance, a compact design, and lower energy consumption, effectively solving the problems associated with traditional wet scrubbers. The technology owner is seeking collaborations with companies in the chemical/ pharmaceutical/ steel manufacturing sector for test-bedding and research and development (R&D) projects that require an eco-friendly scrubber. The advanced scrubber technology features 3000 high-efficiency water jets that maximize contact area and ensure even water distribution, eliminating the need for traditional packing materials. This design addresses issues like scaling, fouling, and corrosion, resulting in lower maintenance and operational costs. The system is compact, enhancing space utilization within facilities. It operates with a compressed spray, effectively capturing pollutants through vertical collision and inertial force. Test results demonstrate a significant reduction in pollutants such as ammonia, formaldehyde, and acetic acid. Additionally, the technology is energy-efficient, reducing power consumption compared to traditional scrubbers, and supports sustainability goals by minimizing solid waste generation.  This technology has the potential to be applied on these areas, harnessing on its ability to remove pollutants effectively using water as a filter: Chemical Manufacturing: Handles a wide range of chemical emissions effectively, ensuring compliance with environmental regulations Steel and Metal Processing: Captures fine particulate matter and metallic dust, improving air quality Food and Beverage Processing: Improves air quality in processing plants, enhances worker safety, and reduces environmental impact Pharmaceutical Manufacturing: Ensures high removal efficiency for specific pollutants such as ammonia and formaldehyde High-Efficiency Water Jets: For maximizing gas-liquid contact, ensuring even water distribution, eliminating issues with uneven waterjet output when compared to traditional systems No Packing Materials: Does not require packing materials, addressing problems like scaling, fouling and corrosion of traditional scrubbers Statistically Proven: 100% reduction in pollutants such as ammonia, formaldehyde and acetic acid Environment, Clean Air & Water, Sanitisation, Mechanical Systems, Sustainability, Sustainable Living

Unsafe and contaminated food poses significant global health risks, affecting approximately one in ten people worldwide and leading to economic losses of around $110 billion annually in low and middle-income countries due to reduced productivity and medical expenses. This issue also accounts for an annual burden of 33 million disability-adjusted life years and causes about 420,000 premature deaths. Additionally, the escalating use of pesticides in food production to meet the demands of a growing population contributes to approximately 200,000 deaths each year due to toxic exposure, posing severe threats to both human health and the environment.  This technology, Plasma Activated Water (PAW) provides an eco-friendly, chemical-free decontamination technique which eradicates residual chemicals, inhibiting microbial growth in agricultural produce. The technology is highly effective (95% reliability) in breaking down organic compounds, including pesticides, and destroying microbial pathogens on the surfaces of fruits and vegetables, resulting in an extended shelf-life.  PAW eliminates the need for potentially toxic chemicals for washing, minimizes chemical residues, reducing environmental impact and agricultural losses, thereby lowering costs. It effectively degrades pesticides, enhancing food safety while maintaining nutritional quality and sensory qualities.   The technology owner is seeking collaborations with agricultural companies or Institutes of Higher Learning to test-bed their technology.  Plasma Activated Water (PAW) is an innovative technology that harnesses the reactive properties of plasma to enhance the characteristics of water. The process involves generating an electrical discharge in a gaseous environment, creating a plasma rich in reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS). The use of pin-hole technology allows for precise and controlled plasma generation at the required intensity and location. This technique involves creating a small, focused plasma jet through a pin-hole or narrow aperture, which directs the plasma stream accurately to the target area. This precision ensures effective application, reducing the risk of unintended exposure and increasing treatment efficacy. The focused nature of the plasma jet also minimizes diffusion, resulting in more efficient energy use and lower operational costs. The reactive species interact with the surface of agricultural produce, they effectively deactivate or destroy pathogens, bacteria, and pesticide residues. PAW technology significantly enhances food safety by reducing contaminants in produce by over 50-80%, compared to just 30% with standard water washes.  This technology has the potential to transcend agricultural applications, harnessing its pathogen- and bacteria-destroying capabilities.  Healthcare and Medical Sector: Can be used to irrigate wounds, leveraging its strong antimicrobial properties to clean and disinfect wound sites, promoting faster healing and preventing infections Industrial Wastewater Treatment: To treat industrial wastewater by breaking down pollutants and pathogens, ensuring that the treated water meets environmental regulations  Superior Decontamination Efficiency: Highly Effective: PAW technology significantly reduces contaminants, achieving over 50-80% reduction in pathogens and pesticide residues compared to just 30% with standard water washes. Its decontamination efficiency stands at 95% reliability Broad-Spectrum Antimicrobial Action: PAW effectively eliminates a wide range of microorganisms, including bacteria, viruses, and fungi, providing comprehensive protection Eco-Friendly and Chemical-Free: Minimized Chemical Use: Unlike traditional methods that rely heavily on chemical disinfectants, PAW uses plasma to activate water, significantly reducing the need for potentially harmful chemicals Harmless Byproducts: The reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (ROS and RNS) generated by PAW break down into harmless byproducts, such as water and nitrogen, making it environmentally friendly Environment, Clean Air & Water, Sanitisation, Foods, Quality & Safety, Sustainability, Food Security