Call for innovative solutions to tackle local water issues as ripple2wave Incubator announces first Digital Water Hackathon
Ripple2wave (R2WI), together with the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS), is organizing its first Digital Water Hackathon to grow and nurture high potential startups in the area of water technology.
Singapore has set its sights on being self-sufficient in water by 2060, while water demand is expected to double in the same time frame. With current technical solutions, such as NEWater and desalination, only 85% of the demand would be met. Infrastructure investments, increasing operational costs required to maintain water systems, manpower constraints, and the impact of climate change are some of the related challenges Singapore’s water ecosystem is facing.
Given this situation, Singapore has invested heavily in becoming a Global HydroHub, continuously evaluating and embracing fresh ideas and perspectives to meet the future’s challenges.
“The Digital Water Hackathon will contribute to these efforts (a) by raising awareness to the importance and challenges of water management and (b) by attracting talent developing digitally based ideas and solutions,” said Dr. Helge Daebel, Managing Director at ripple2wave, and added: “The digital space has proven to deliver solutions giving answer to the complexities of the water space. Singapore can leverage its reputation, collaborative ecosystem and talent to become a leader in the digital water space. We look forward to deploying our skills by creating, nurturing, and growing related startups.”
The Digital Water Hackathon will run from 6 March 2021 – 24 June 2021. Participants are provided with six problem statements from the Public Utilities Board (PUB), Sembcorp, Optiqua, and ZWEEC Analytics. Winners will receive prizes including S$50,000 Startup SG Founder Grant, S$250,000 potential R&D funding, and up to S$6,000 Alibaba Cloud credits. Winning solutions will also have guidance to expand globally and get further exposure into the ecosystem. Registration closes on 28 February 2021.
More information can be found at the website of the Digital Water Hackathon.
About the Digital Water Hackathon
The Digital Water Hackathon runs from 6 March 2021 – 24 June 2021. It provides participants with six problem statements from the Public Utilities Board (PUB), Sembcorp, Optiqua, and ZWEEC Analytics.
Participants were able to enter the hackathon under two main categories:
- Entry: first-time entrepreneurs looking to solve problems in the digital water sector whose solutions are at the conceptual stage and
- Advance: local or international teams with existing solutions ready to be deployed.
The programme will include a one-week Bootcamp and a 3-month long deep mentoring sessions by experts and business mentors. Participants will get the opportunity to present their solutions at the Singapore International Water Week 2021 in June this year.
The problem statements include:
- Monitoring and predicting performance of pumps and other water-related equipment (PUB)
To monitor the condition of Mechanical & Electrical (M&E) equipment with minimal manpower, at a lower cost (in terms of Capex and Opex) than the current approach. - Leak detection & prediction in water pipes (PUB)
To accurately forecast when (both date and time) and where (to within a few metres) a pipe in the Potable, NEWater and Industrial Water transmission and distribution network might be going to leak. - Reliable, low-cost method to detect toxicity events affecting the operation of industrial wastewater treatment plants (Sembcorp)
How can Sembcorp be supported with a cost-efficient data-driven approach to detect, categorize and potentially predict toxic events in the inflow of an industrial wastewater treatment plant? - A reliable, low-cost monitoring and control concept for small-scale remote industrial wastewater treatment plants (Sembcorp)
Compared to conventional monitoring and control approaches, is there a lower-cost, but still reliable solution for Sembcorp to manage its smaller sized plants remotely? - Real time optimization of a wastewater treatment plant based on low pressure membranes (ultra filtration) (Sembcorp)
Based on which data and model driven approach could Sembcorp optimize its membrane-based plant operations with the end goal of reducing chemical, electrical usage and achieve high water recovery? - Contaminant estimation at certain events by using different information sources (Optiqua and ZWEEC)
How might we develop a smart pre-categorisation classification algorithm of the type of contaminant present in the water matrix upon event occurrence from the different sensor data provided?
About ripple2wave
Ripple2wave (R2WI) is a Singapore based incubator building emerging water technology leaders to serve global markets.
R2WI is a joint venture between VFT Ventures(Singapore) and Emerald Technology Ventures, a globally recognized Cleantech Investor with a twenty-year investment history. Part of this history has been a unique traction in the water space including successful exits to major industry players (SUEZ, XYLEM and BASF). Meanwhile, VFT successfully commercialised technologies from A*Star through Zweec Analytics.
R2WI is supported by Enterprise Singapore and PUB to create a unique ecosystem for emerging water technology startups.
