The global population is set to hit 8 billion this year. With rapid urbanisation gripping Asia, the decarbonisation of our economies and cities has become more urgent than ever. Bangkok and Jakarta are sinking. Bangladesh is hit by the worst floods in a century. Guangzhou’s coastline is disappearing.
At the same time, climate change is warming our oceans and making it more acidic. Our marine ecosystems are under severe threat, exacerbated by overfishing and pollution. With rising constraints on land, water, and energy, food security has also risen to the top of the agenda. How can we establish circular, net-zero urban food systems?
That is why The LiveabilityChallenge (TLC) was launched in 2018, to spark a global hunt for innovative and sustainable solutions to the challenges of urban cities.
This year, from a record-breaking 600+ entries from 82 countries, the battle to win up to S$2.5 million funding is now down to 8 finalists. Representing various countries such as Singapore, United States, Israel and the Philippines, the shortlist for The Liveability Challenge 2023 feature innovative solutions on climate change and food and nutrition.
The 8 finalists are:
Climate change (decarbonisationand ocean conservation and restoration)
1. Team: Seabound (United Kingdom)
Solution: Carbon capture for ships. Equipment installed by a ship’s funnel that traps 95 per cent of a vessel’s carbon emissions.
2. Team: Carbix Corporation (United States)
Solution: Technology captures point source emissions from industry and converts the carbon into construction materials.
3. Team: Susteon (UnitedStates)
Solution: Capturing carbon dioxide and converting it into “green methane” or renewable natural gas.
4. Team: Seaforestation.Co (ThePhilippines)
Solution: Marine permaculture, aims to scale seaweed forest regeneration to remove atmospheric carbon and provide deepwater irrigation.
5. Team: Nika.eco(Singapore)
Solution: An analysis tool for mangrove restoration and conservation and blue carbon projects.
Food and nutrition
6. Team: Proteomax(Singapore)
Solution: Enabling the manufacture of alternative proteins with the same nutritional content as animal-based products.
7. Team: TeOra(Singapore)
Solution: Orally-delivered solution to prevent and treat scale drop disease virus in Barramundi or Asian sea bass.
8. Team: Plantae Bioscience (Israel)
Solution: Cultivating classical and gene-edited tomatoes for vertical farms in Singapore.
The Liveability Challenge will award a grand prize of up to S$1million for the winner in each track. Other funding prizes include investments of $100,000 each from our strategic partners: impact investment firm PlanetRise, impact-focused family office Rumah Group, and venture capital funds Quest Ventures, TRIREC and PeakBridge.
Join us for the Grand Finale of The Liveability Challenge 2023 at Marina Bay Sands, hosted alongside Ecosperity 2023.
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