Singapore to launch initiative for startups to tackle carbon emissions

Backed by program partners including Cargill, DNV GL, Hafnia, Mitsubishi Corp’s subsidiary MC Shipping, Vale, and Wilhelmsen, and supported by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), the program will be opened for global startups to apply from now until 10 April 2020.

Corporate and venture development firm Rainmaking, which is driving the program, expects to identify more than 1,000 startups with the relevant technologies and business models to tackle decarbonisation.

“We believe that true disruption will be enabled by tech startups and serial entrepreneurs,” said Michael Pomerleau, partner and investor at Rainmaking.

“In tackling the decarbonisation agenda, we will bring together disruptive startups and entrepreneurs with the scale, capability and reach of global industry giants, in order to create game-changing solutions with exponential impact and scale them on within an extremely short horizon during the program,” he said.

Upon the application deadline in April, startups will be screened and the most relevant teams will be invited for the program kick-off days in Singapore and ultimately matched with the partners.

Apart from the Trade and Transport Impact program, Rainmaking will also support MPA’s recently announced Maritime GreenFuture Fund by committing up to SGD10m to invest in promising startups who are developing and test-bedding solutions to aid the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in the Singapore maritime industry.

Related:Maritime’s journey to zero-carbon

Kenneth Lim, chief technology officer and senior director of innovation, technology and talent development at MPA, commented: “With strong collaboration between the R&D community, startups, maritime industry and governments in the journey to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, we can make international shipping more environmentally sustainable.”

Given projected global economic growth, the IMO estimates that emissions from shipping could grow between 50% to 250% by 2050. In response, the IMO has adopted a target to reduce the industry’s greenhouse gas emissions by 50% in 2050, and to reduce the average carbon intensity by 40% in 2030 and 70% in 2050, compared to 2008.