Singapore, 16 June 2026 – Under the Research, Innovation and Enterprise (RIE) 2030 Urban Solutions & Sustainability Domain, PUB will receive almost $100 million1 in initial funding from the National Research Foundation (NRF), Singapore. The funds will be utilised for the research and development of Municipal and Industrial Water Solutions.
Catalysing innovation in municipal water solutions
2 An initial tranche of $85 million will be dedicated to developing innovative municipal water solutions, building on the $74 million funding received under RIE2025. The continued investment in this domain will enhance PUB’s ability to advance research and development in key areas such as water treatment, desalination, managing contaminants of emerging concern, to strengthen Singapore’s water security and sustainability. As part of this funding, PUB will also develop an energy-positive used water treatment Integrated Validation Plant (IVP). This new research facility, slated for development in 2027, will advance the frontiers of used water treatment, providing research institutes and industry partners with opportunities to co-develop solutions with PUB.
Building an innovative industrial water ecosystem
3 To further the research and development of Industrial Water Solutions, a new domain under RIE2030, PUB has secured an initial $12 million in funding. The funds will be channelled to the development of novel and innovative solutions to bolster water efficiency and facilitate water recycling within two water-intensive sectors – wafer fabrication and data centres.
4 PUB will bring together multiple stakeholders, such as universities, research institutes, trade associations, technology providers and industry end-users, to develop and validate technologies. Connecting solution providers and experts to relevant industry adopters will strengthen the likelihood of successful translation and real-world deployment of technologies and support the adoption of these solutions within the wafer fabrication and data centre sectors.
5 Two Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) will be signed at the Singapore International Water Week (SIWW) 2026 to kickstart the formation of Industrial Water Solutions Innovation Ecosystem Alliances for the wafer fabrication and data centre sectors. PUB will partner the Separation Technologies Applied Research and Translation (START) Centre, Singapore Water Association (SWA) and the Singapore Semiconductor Industry Association (SSIA) to form the Alliance for the wafer fabrication sector. For the data centre sector, the Alliance will be established with the support of the Sustainable Tropical Data Centre Testbed (STDCT)2, SWA and SGTech (Data Centre Chapter).
Development pathway for novel technologies for industrial water
6 During the initial phase, PUB will work closely with the trade associations to identify priority problem statements and sector-specific industrial water challenges. The respective research partners will concurrently work with SWA to identify and recommend suitable solution pathways to address the identified gaps. Promising technologies assessed to possess strong technical alignment and potential for real-world deployment could undergo testing and validation at the START Centre and STDCT’s facilities, as well as sites operated by solution adopters.
7 PUB will oversee the tracking of the Industrial Water Solutions projects, manage the overall budget, and evaluate the outcomes of the funding initiatives. Successful projects will be consolidated into a portfolio of water recycling and cooling technologies for local deployment and commercialisation opportunities. These projects will also be considered for deployment overseas, reinforcing our position as a global hydrohub for advanced water technologies, and generating longer-term economic and technological value for Singapore.
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Footnotes:
[1] $85 million will be allocated to the funding initiative for the research and development of Municipal Water Technology Development Solutions, while $12 million will be allocated for the research and development of Industrial Water Solutions.
[2] The STDCT, led by the National University of Singapore, aims to bring together academia and industry partners to fast track the adoption of innovative and sustainable data centre cooling solutions tailored for the tropical climate.
