CapitaLand Sustainability X Challenge 2023 unveils top 10 finalists selected from over 680 innovations from 79 countries

Entries received were double that of CSXC 2022. End Quote

(1888PressRelease) October 13, 2023 - CapitaLand Group (CapitaLand) has unveiled the top 10 finalists of CapitaLand Sustainability X Challenge (CSXC) 2023 selected from over 680 innovations from 79 countries. This is double the entries received from more than 50 countries for CSXC 2022. CSXC is the first global sustainability innovation challenge by a Singapore-based real estate company.

The 10 finalists with innovations from around the world will pitch to a distinguished panel of judges at CSXC 2023 Demo Day on 26 October. They will vie for the opportunity to pilot their innovations and scale them at selected CapitaLand properties globally, and be awarded up to S$75,000 each. Four special recognition award winners (Emerging Startup Award presented by Enterprise Singapore, High Impact Award, Most Innovative Award, and Most Scalable Award) will receive an additional S$75,000 each. All the prizes received will go towards funding the costs of the pilots.

CSXC 2023 Demo Day will be held at the Built Environment Innovation Hub @ Building and Construction Authority’s (BCA) Braddell Campus (BEIH) in conjunction with BEIH’s launch. BEIH is a collaborative space for like-minded individuals to showcase innovative technologies and exchange ideas to accelerate transformation in the built environment sector. This is line with CapitaLand’s efforts at fostering innovation. The Guest-of-Honour for the event will be Ms Indranee Rajah, Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office, Second Minister for Finance and Second Minister for National Development.

Mr Vinamra Srivastava, CapitaLand Investment’s Chief Sustainability Officer, said: “At CapitaLand, innovation is embedded in our culture and through CSXC, we aim to offer innovators the opportunity to testbed their solutions across our diversified assets and scale them at our selected properties globally. For this year’s CSXC, we are stepping up our efforts to reduce scope 3 carbon emissions by taking a two-pronged approach - partnering with our tenants to run the pilots at their premises, and broadening our CSXC challenge statements to seek innovations on reducing embodied carbon. We have also increased focus on enhancing workplace safety for this year’s CSXC, and among the finalists are technologies that can potentially advance our efforts in these areas.”

“We are encouraged by the overwhelming response from innovators globally to our call for collective action. Together, we can make meaningful strides towards our decarbonisation goals and create a climate-resilient built environment. CapitaLand is pleased to partner BCA to spur innovation in sustainability and that our CSXC is the first global event to be hosted at BEIH,” added Mr Srivastava.

The top 10 innovations, categorised by CSXC’s challenge statements, are as follows:

Low carbon transition
• AI Chiller Plant Optimiz.: A chiller plant and air side Heating, Ventilation and Air-Conditioning (HVAC) optimisation solution that integrates seamlessly with the building management systems and utilises artificial intelligence (AI) for energy optimisation and predictive fault diagnostics.
• Carbon Mineralization Concrete Tech: A carbon dioxide mineralised concrete technology that creates low-carbon green building materials with carbon dioxide captured and stored in concrete during its manufacturing process.
• Corrugated Solar Roof: A lightweight flexible solar module integrated with corrugated steel that can be installed horizontally or vertically as a building integrated photovoltaic (PV) or as a conventional solar PV.
• Refleshine Novel Heat-Reflecting Film: A clear and low absorption film that reflects solar heat, improves thermal insulation and can be installed on any smooth façade window or glass surface, minimising energy consumption.
• Solar Hybrid Air-con: An air-conditioner that runs directly on solar power on a sunny day and integrates both solar and grid energy on a rainy day, thus reducing grid energy consumption.

Water conservation and resilience
• Auto Sprinkler Test - CP52: An automated sprinkler system flow-switch test that can be activated with just a key, reducing manpower required and energy and water usage.
• Nano-crystal Reverse Scaling Technology: A nano-crystal reverse scaling technology that solves scaling and wastewater challenges in central air-conditioning system cooling towers, effectively reducing water discharge and cooling water usage.

Waste management and circular economy
• Magorium: A technology that converts contaminated and unsorted plastic waste into a sustainable construction material that can potentially be used for the construction of roads within CapitaLand’s business parks.

Health, safety and wellness in buildings
• AI-powered Video Analytics: An AI-powered video analytics tool to provide granular insights that enhance safety, productivity and compliance with environmental standards at the workplace.
• Disinfecting Filtration System: A patented low-pressure drop filtration technology that replaces existing media filters to improve the performance and system-level filtration efficiency of existing air handling units while reducing energy load on fans' motors.

In this year’s CSXC, CapitaLand is collaborating with its tenants as sandbox partners for the first time. In addition to DBS Bank, DFI Retail Group and KPMG in Singapore will potentially support the startups to run their pilots at their respective tenanted spaces in CapitaLand’s properties. In total, more than 70 partners globally including technology and venture capital firms, institutes of higher learning, government agencies, as well as embassies of various countries are supporting CSXC 2023, amplifying CapitaLand’s drive for innovation as a global real estate leader in sustainability.

Catch the finalists live at CSXC 2023 Demo Day on 26 October 2023 at 2:30pm to 6pm (GMT +8)
The 10 finalists will pitch their projects to an esteemed panel of judges comprising a global lineup of senior experts at the CSXC 2023 Demo Day. The event will be live streamed via CSXC website, CapitaLand’s YouTube and WeChat channels.

The 10 innovations were shortlisted based on the impact, potential outcomes, depth of innovation, as well as scalability and effectiveness of deploying the solutions at CapitaLand’s global network of properties. The finalists have been paired with leading industry experts to undergo a mentorship programme to help prepare them for their pitches.

CSXC green building innovations piloted at CapitaLand properties
Twenty projects from the first two CSXC are being piloted or preparing to pilot at 24 CapitaLand properties in Singapore, China, India, Thailand, and the USA. Among them is an intelligent water leakage management solution that utilises Internet-of-Things technology and high-precision sonic sensors by South Korean startup WI.Plat. The solution, which is being testbedded at CQ @ Clarke Quay in Singapore, has detected a sprinkler pipe leakage, enabling the pipe to be promptly repaired.

Besides supporting innovators from around the world through CSXC, CapitaLand also advocates innovation among its staff with a S$50 million Innovation Fund launched in 2021. To date, 62 innovations have been selected for further development and pilots, more than half of which are sustainability related.

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