Delivered Speech by Minister for Energy, Trade and Industry (Energy and Industry) Dr Tan See Leng at SWITCH 2026, Breakthrough Energy Fellows: Scaling climate and energy tech through partnerships in Southeast Asia

Distinguished guests,

Ladies and gentlemen,

Good afternoon.

1. It is a pleasure to join you at SWITCH 2026, where some of the brightest minds in innovation, investment and industry have come together to turn promising ideas and technologies into real-world solutions.

2. For many startups, developing a breakthrough technology is only the first step. The greater challenge is validating their solutions in real-world environments, securing early customers and building a commercially viable business.

3. This is especially challenging for climate and energy technologies, which often require substantial capital, rigorous technical validation, and industry partners willing to adopt new solutions before they can achieve commercial success.

4. This is where partnerships can make all the difference. No startup can make this journey alone. It needs researchers to push the boundaries of what is possible; investors to back new ideas; and industry partners to test, adopt and scale solutions.

5. Singapore is well-positioned to bring all of these partners together. Our ambition is not just to develop technologies here, but to translate them into commercially viable solutions and scale them globally.

6. Today, I would like to highlight three ways we are strengthening partnerships to make this happen.

Developing and validating breakthrough technologies

7. First, we are bringing together the strengths of our innovation ecosystem to turn breakthrough ideas into market-ready solutions. Frontier technologies rarely follow a straightforward path from research to commercialisation.

They require specialised expertise, sustained investment and repeated testing and validation. Bringing partners together early can help innovators overcome these hurdles and reach the market faster.

8. The Breakthrough Energy Fellows programme is a good example. Through the programme, we help climate tech innovators advance their technologies. Since the establishment of its Southeast Asia programme in Singapore in 2024, it has supported 12 climate technology companies across three cohorts.

9. One example is CRecTech, a Singapore-based startup that converts biogas into bio-methanol for shipping. CRecTech joined the programme’s inaugural cohort in 2024. Since then, the company has strengthened its understanding of customer needs, sharpened its value proposition, and developed a clearer strategy to bring its solution to market.

10. In August this year, CRecTech signed an agreement with Pertamina New & Renewable Energy (Pertamina NRE) to jointly develop Indonesia’s first biogas-to-biomethanol demonstration plant in Sumatra, supporting Indonesia’s decarbonisation and energy security mandate. This is the kind of progress we want to see - helping promising technologies become commercially viable solutions that can be deployed to address real industry needs across Southeast Asia.

11. Today, we mark the third edition of the Southeast Asia programme and the renewal of the partnership between Breakthrough Energy, Temasek and Enterprise Singapore for a further three years.

12. The renewed partnership will support three more cohorts from 2028 to 2030, expanding the pipeline of climate technology companies in Southeast Asia.

13. This edition also brings three industry partners - Pertamina New & Renewable Energy, Olam Agri and PTT ExpresSo – into the partnership. They will work directly with participating startups, bringing their industry expertise, commercial experience and market networks to help innovators derisk their technologies and commercialise promising climate technologies.

Turning innovation into commercial adoption

14. Second, we are helping startups bring their technologies to market by connecting them with corporate customers.

15. For startups, securing their first customers is often one of the biggest hurdles. Industry partnerships can help them demonstrate the value of their solutions, build a track record and gain the confidence of other potential customers. At the same time, established companies benefit from access to emerging technologies that can strengthen their competitiveness.

16. This is precisely what we hope to achieve through the Lenovo–Enterprise Singapore Global Accelerator Programme, which we are launching today.

17. This programme will connect promising startups to Lenovo’s global innovation ecosystem, spanning its research laboratories, product teams, enterprise customers, supply chain and investor network. Through these connections, startups can co-develop and validate solutions, undertake commercial pilots, and integrate their technologies into products and services. Importantly, they can also tap Lenovo’s global footprint spanning more than 180 countries.

18. We are also seeing how venture builders help startups establish themselves and forge commercial partnerships by assembling teams, providing early-stage support and connecting startups with industry partners.

19. Xora, for example, has supported startups in establishing their teams and developing their technologies in Singapore. One such startup is Aether Fuels, which is developing technology to produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). Incubated by Xora in Singapore, Aether Fuels is advancing its technology through Project Beacon, a first-of-a-kind SAF production facility being developed here. In February 2025, Aether signed an MOU with Singapore Airlines Group for the potential offtake of SAF.

20. Today, I am pleased to share that Aether Fuels and Singapore Airlines Group have entered into a binding agreement to offtake SAF from Aether. This is a significant step forward – from exploring a potential commercial partnership to securing a firm commitment from a major industry customer.

Such commitments provide startups with greater commercial certainty and a stronger foundation to scale their operations.

Connecting innovators to international markets

21. Third, we are building stronger international partnerships to help startups reach beyond Singapore and scale globally. Singapore offers a strong base for innovation - with our research capabilities, sophisticated industries and connectivity to regional markets. But our domestic market is small. For startups to achieve their full potential, they must be able to access capabilities, customers and opportunities beyond our shores.

22. Through the Global Innovation Alliance, Enterprise Singapore connects startups to R&D facilities, technical expertise and industry networks that can help them develop, validate and commercialise their technologies in key markets.

23. I am pleased to announce a new partnership that will give eligible startups access to the laboratory and prototyping facilities at Bakar Labs at the University of California, Berkeley.

24. This partnership will provide startups from the life sciences, chemistry, materials science, energy and climate tech sectors with a valuable launchpad in the United States. Beyond access to world-class facilities, startups will gain access to researchers, industry partners, customers, and investors across the Bay Area to build commercial pathways and scale into the US market.

25. At the same time, we want Singapore to be a gateway for international innovators seeking opportunities in Southeast Asia. This is the thinking behind the inaugural Southeast Asia Pavilion at SWITCH. The Pavilion is where Southeast Asia's diverse challenges meet Singapore's innovation ecosystem. For the first time, we have convened leading corporates from across Southeast Asia at the Pavilion to surface the most compelling opportunities for innovation and partnerships.

26. Our vision is for Singapore to serve as a launchpad where innovations from around the world can be developed, commercialised and scaled across Southeast Asia, supported by the right capabilities, industry partners and market opportunities. I encourage you to visit the Pavilion, engage with our founders and industry partners, and explore what we can achieve together.

Conclusion

27. Let me conclude with one final reflection. The true measure of innovation is not simply what we can invent, but what we can put to use - to solve real problems, transform industries and ultimately improve lives.

28. Getting there takes more than technological ingenuity. It takes patient capital, industry know-how, customers willing to embrace new solutions, have an open mindset, and partnerships that bring these elements together. This is the ecosystem we are building in Singapore, where startups and established businesses can grow together and innovations can reach markets far beyond our shores.

29. I look forward to seeing more innovations take shape, and more breakthroughs translate into meaningful impact for Singapore, Southeast Asia and the world.

30. Thank you.