Lianhe Zaobao 联合早报
28 Oct 2024
Sustainable venture capital projects held by Temasek and Breakthrough Energy
As the range of applications for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) continues to expand, a local spin-off has begun developing a lighter, longer-lasting battery that it aims to produce in small batches within the next six months.
Dr Rayavarapu Prasada Rao, Chief Executive Officer of Thiospark—a start-up originating from the National University of Singapore (NUS)—disclosed the plan to Lianhe Zaobao during the showcase marking the completion of the Singapore Climate Ventures Programme (SGCV) on Monday, 28 October.
Jointly organised by NUS, Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Temasek, and Breakthrough Energy (founded by Bill Gates), the inaugural SGCV ran for ten weeks from mid-August. It brought together entrepreneurs and investors in the sustainability sector to mentor six start-up teams from the two universities, including Thiospark.
Dr Rayavarapu (47), a senior research fellow at NUS College of Design and Engineering, said Thiospark was incorporated in July this year. Building on more than a decade of battery-technology research at NUS, the company is developing a solid-state lithium–sulphur battery for drones that delivers more than 500 charge–discharge cycles—twice that of conventional lithium-ion batteries—while being roughly 30 per cent lighter.
Because the solid-state lithium–sulphur design contains no flammable liquid electrolyte, it also greatly reduces the risk of fires.
“SGCV helped us demonstrate the battery’s capabilities and broaden our industry network. With mentors’ guidance, our development path is now clearer,” he said, adding that the firm hopes to secure local certification and achieve pilot-scale production within six months.
Another SGCV team is Carbonsynk from NTU, led by Zhang Yiwen (25), a PhD candidate at the NTU Asian School of the Environment. The team is devising a novel method to quantify carbon capture. It builds on the known technique of spreading ground mining and construction waste over fields to sequester CO₂ through “enhanced rock weathering”. Because the captured CO₂ is difficult to measure accurately, Carbonsynk is exploiting the fact that weathering products dissolve in water, seeking to calculate the CO₂ captured in paddy fields with precision.
Zhang noted that expert guidance during SGCV has given the team confidence to deploy its innovative measurement method in Southeast Asia, enabling more scientific carbon-emission reductions.
Daniel Tay, Vice President, Emerging Technologies, pointed out that Southeast Asia faces an investment gap of about US$150 billion (S$198 billion) in climate-related fields between now and 2030. More investment opportunities and catalytic policies are therefore needed to boost decarbonisation.
“Building a strong talent pool for climate-tech is essential, and initiatives like SGCV will play a pivotal role,” he said.
The four other technology start-ups in SGCV are Greentube Technologies (NUS), which focuses on carbon-storage technology; CogniVision (NUS), specialising in outdoor surveillance-camera technology; HydroTech Solutions (NTU), working on hydrogen production; and Carbon Nano Dots, an agri-tech venture.