Q: We heard the exciting news that you have relocated to Singapore! This must be a really huge decision. Can you tell us why?

While it’s no secret in our office that I am quite capable of crossing an ocean for a plate of char kway teow or nasi lemak, the reason for my move to Singapore is more about water innovation than food. Successful start-ups tackle urgent and underserved problems. We aren’t short on these when we talk about the water and climate risks converging on Southeast Asia. Rising to these challenges, we see more start-ups in water tech springing up in Singapore and the wider region. 60% of our start-up applicant pool this year came from a dozen countries across the Asia-Pacific with a noticeable uptick in founders from outside the water industry.

This entrepreneurial activity spells new opportunities for Imagine H2O Asia, Imagine H2O’s Singapore start-up hub launched in 2019. I am excited to get a little closer to the action as we launch Cohort 3 next month and look forward to working with an exceptional team and network of partners as we try to make water innovation, in its many shapes and forms, more accessible in the region.

Q: With your move, can we expect any exciting new plans for Imagine H2O Asia in the region?

Imagine H2O Asia is more than a start-up accelerator. We are trying to create new markets for our innovators and that means helping them identify, design and even fund pilot projects targeting the region’s many challenges. We become long-term partners in that effort - working alongside a growing community of end-users in South and Southeast Asia that want to leapfrog conventional ways of managing water and wastewater resources.

Q: Singapore is known globally to be a hub for water technologies and solutions. With Imagine H2O Asia headquartered out of Singapore, what synergies does that offer to the start-ups under your portfolio?

Singapore’s track record translates into test bedding opportunities for our start-ups. And a quarter of our foreign start-ups every year are securing demonstration projects with local entities. Singapore’s global hydrohub status helps us take that one step further and build a customised ecosystem around each start-up in our program. It’s a diverse bunch every year in terms of technology and stage of development, and so tailored support as a start-up’s needs evolve is key.

Q: Singapore International Water Week returns next April as a fully physical event, with a new Start-Up Pavilion in the Water Expo. Surely you must be excited. Tell us about your plans for the show.

We can’t wait to see you all in April. We will be participating in the Start-Up Pavilion in the Water Expo, and hosting our start-up bootcamp on the margins of SIWW next year. This means showcasing Cohort 3 which will be announced next month on the exhibition floor, along with alumni companies from across our global start-up programs. A Demo Day will follow for our network of Ecosystem Partners and other SIWW visitors.

The SIWW2022 Water Expo returns next April with three new exciting Thematic Pavilions – Start-Up Pavilion, Digital Solutions Pavilion, and Climate Resilience Pavilion. Aim at showcasing technologies and solutions in digital water and climate resilience, and the latest innovations from global tech water start-ups, these Pavilions strengthen our suite of diverse solution offerings in key emerging areas of interest for SIWW2022 delegates and trade visitors.

We invite organisations to sign up as an exhibitor of these Pavilions and leverage the opportunity to reach buyers and resellers from Asia and beyond.

Start-Up Pavilion

The Start-Up Pavilion offers a centralised platform for promising water technology start-ups looking to establish new business partnerships in Asia in an affordable yet effective manner. Participating start-ups will be given a table-top counter, along with the opportunity to present your technology in the dedicated presentation area to visitors. Located close to networking zones within the Expo, capitalise on the high footfall traffic to create awareness for your innovation.

We are inviting accelerators and incubators, or individual start-ups to exhibit with us.

Climate Resilience Pavilion

Sea-level rise and extreme weather events such as storm surges and droughts are existential threats facing urban communities, particularly those along the coast. As an island city state, Singapore will be investing $100 billion over the next 100 years to protect itself against rising sea levels. In line with the SIWW2022 theme on Climate Resilience, this Pavilion brings together technology providers and companies with deep climate and coastal protection expertise to showcase your products and services, and build new connections with governments, utilities and regulators who are searching for solutions.

We are inviting companies with the following expertise to exhibit with us:

• Coastal engineering
• Dredging and reclamation
• Flood mitigation
• Catchment management
• Predictive and real-time modelling
• Nature-based solutions
• Design and consultancy

Digital Solutions Pavilion

Over the last few years, digital transformation has gained traction as a key strategy for water utilities to redefine existing business processes, and in turn, enhance efficiency, safety and resilience of utility operations. At SIWW2018, PUB, Singapore’s national water agency, unveiled its roadmap to be a smart utility, leveraging on smart technologies and solutions to digitalise Singapore’s entire water system to improve operational excellence and meet future water needs. This Pavilion brings together smart and digital solutions providers to showcase the latest cutting-edge products and services to participating water utilities at SIWW2022.

We are inviting digital solution providers with the following expertise to exhibit with us:

• Artificial intelligence and Machine Learning
• Internet of Things and Real-time sensors
• Smart Water Meters
• Big Data
• Digital Twin
• Automation and Robotics
• Cybersecurity
• Cloud computing and web services

To exhibit in these Thematic Pavilions, email us at sales@siww.com.sg

Send those great case studies, projects and solutions in! Here’s your last chance to do so.

** Special provisions will be made to allow authors who are unable to attend SIWW2022 in-person to present their papers virtually.

For more information on SIWW2022 Water Convention, visit www.siww.com.sg or reach out to the Water Convention Secretariat at waterconvention@siww.com.sg.

PWNT: Proven Sustainable Water Treatment Innovations for Every Scale of Requirement

Proven PWNT innovations ILCA® and CeraMac® are now available in modular format offering the benefits of low carbon footprint, reliability, and scalability, as applied with Ross Shire Engineering for Scottish Water at the Bonnycraig Water Treatment Works. Enjoy less construction work on-site, quicker plant-in-use, ease of capacity expansion and standardisation with our latest modular innovations.

From the world’s largest ceramic membrane-based water treatment works in Singapore to smaller scale treatment units in Scotland, PWNT has experience delivering drinking water treatment innovations to meet different scale requirements; contact us to address your water treatment needs today.

For more information about our latest project for Scottish Water, please click here.

Image credit: Scottish Water

Binnies Singapore Speaks to Water & Wastewater Asia on Shaping the Future Water Treatment Plant

Following Binnies’ successful run at the recently concluded Singapore International Water Week 2021 that was held virtually in June this year, William Yong, Managing Director, Binnies Singapore sat down for an in-depth conversation with Water & Wastewater Asia to discuss how Binnies and water industry partners are shaping the future water treatment plant with the recent wins in the region.

Click here for the full details.