6 water companies to receive S$1mln R&D funds

EWI announces 6 companies to receive a million worth of research fund to carry out R&D and improve product offerings.

The Environment & Water Industry Programme Office (EWI) on Wednesday announced the companies that will receive the boost from the government. The recipients were announced following the launch of the first ever Request-for-Proposals (RFP) on Industry-Led Research in November last year.

The six awarded proposals came from the following companies: Siemens Pte Ltd, Ultra-Flo Pte Ltd, Natflow Pte Ltd, OptoTech (S) Pte Ltd and DHI Water & Environment (S) Pte Ltd (which was awarded funding for two proposals).

Of the six companies, two are Singapore-based companies while the rest are strongly represented by offices in Singapore.

Prof. Lui Pao Chuen, Chairman of EWI’s Project Evaluation Panel, said, “We are pleased that the RFP on Industry-Led Research has generated great interest among the water and environment industry. The large number of good quality ideas we received is testament that Singapore-based water and environment companies have made remarkable progress towards becoming world-class players. We believe that these proposals will deliver product and process innovations to solve practical problems, and bring about greater efficiency in supplying water to consumers around the world.”

The RFP on Industry-Led Research marks the ninth RFP called by EWI since 2006. Earlier this year, EWI also awarded 10 proposals, under its first Research Programme Call open to universities, research institutions and the private sector.

By 2015, the Environment and Water sector is expected to contribute $1.7 billion to Singapore’s GDP and employ 11,000, with a majority in professional and skilled categories.