First row (from left to right): Ms Regula Schegg (Managing Director Asia, Circulate Capital), Mr Lee Kok Kin (CEO, SembWaste), Mr Durwin Ho (CEO, StartupX), Ms Laura Benns (Director Programs, The Incubation Network). Second row (from left to right): Mr Ng Chun Pin (Deputy CEO, National Environment Agency), Ms Grace Fu (Minister for Sustainability and the Environment), Ms Christine Wong (Executive Director, Enterprise Singapore).

StartupX, in partnership with National Environment Agency (NEA) and Enterprise Singapore, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between StartupX and its corporate partners SembWaste, Circulate Capital and The Incubation Network. At the signing of the MoU, all parties pledged their commitment to supporting sustainable innovation in the areas of plastic, electronic and mixed waste through Asia’s inaugural waste-tech accelerator programme – HyperScale. The programme is hosted by StartupX, which is a StartupSG Accelerator partner of Enterprise Singapore.

The MoU signing took place at the CleanEnviro Summit Singapore on 18 April 2022 and was witnessed by Guest-of-Honour, Ms. Grace Fu (Minister for Sustainability and the Environment), Mr. Ng Chun Pin (Deputy Chief Executive Officer (Planning, Corporate and Technology), National Environment Agency) and Ms. Christine Wong (Executive Director for Urban Solutions and Sustainability, Enterprise Singapore).

Creating a More Vibrant Waste-Tech Ecosystem in Asia Through HyperScale

With Asian cities generating 6 times the amount of waste in 2012, Asia is the largest waste generating continent, with a projected waste generation amount of 1.8 billion tonnes by 2025. In view of these challenging circumstances, the need for innovative waste-tech solutions has become ever more pertinent. This is where the inaugural HyperScale comes in to develop a pipeline of waste-tech solutions to address the growing waste problem in the region.

Mr. Ng Chun Pin, Deputy Chief Executive Officer (Planning, Corporate and Technology) of National Environment Agency said, “The National Environment Agency is glad to support the HyperScale programme. Electronics and plastics waste are priority waste streams for closing the resource loop, which will help Singapore achieve its vision of a Zero Waste Nation. With 5.88 million tonnes of waste generated by our land-scarce country in 2020, it is critical that we find innovative and novel ways to manage this amount of waste and build the circular economy. The programme is also aligned with NEA’s Environmental Services Industry Transformation Map objective of growing startups and innovative companies in the waste management ecosystem. We look forward to seeing the waste-tech solutions from this programme.”

Mr. Geoffrey Yeo, Assistant Chief Executive Officer of Enterprise Singapore, said, “Enterprise Singapore is happy to support StartupX on the launch of HyperScale, as part of our efforts to develop Singapore as a regional launchpad for sustainable solutions. Through accelerator programmes such as HyperScale, we hope to build a vibrant waste-tech ecosystem where startups can co-develop innovative solutions with prominent industry players. We welcome waste-tech startups to leverage Singapore as a base to testbed their solutions and seize opportunities both locally and overseas.”

Organised by StartupX in partnership with National Environment Agency and Enterprise Singapore, HyperScale is designed with collaboration in mind, where world-class domain experts, corporates, and investors across waste industries are brought together to expedite development of innovative waste-tech solutions, especially in the electronic, plastic and mixed waste streams. HyperScale will take place from August – November 2022. The 12-week programme will provide participating startups access to various opportunities and resources and will culminate in a Demo Day at the end of the programme.

Mr. Durwin Ho, CEO of StartupX, said, “For sustainability innovation to truly take off in Singapore and the region, it requires the presence of a vibrant and world class ecosystem where both the private and public sector work together hand in hand, and new possibilities are unlocked to address the waste challenge we face today. We are honoured to be a key facilitator of this drive through the startups we will accelerate at HyperScale. We are also heartened by the support from so many notable organisations who have come together for this.”

The open call for HyperScale applicants has already begun in April 2022. Any waste-tech startup ready for market expansion is welcomed. For more information, please visit www.hyperx.global/hyperscale.