Eight start-ups to compete for funding awards totalling up to $4m at sustainability challenge final

SINGAPORE – Tackling sustainability challenges such as energy efficiency in textile recycling and keeping cities cool may seem like a tough nut to crack, but eight start-ups will pitch their solutions at the grand finale of a sustainability challenge on May 20.

Established in 2018, The Liveability Challenge (TLC) is an annual global initiative that spotlights innovative solutions to sustainability challenges in tropical cities. 

Presented by local non-profit organisation Temasek Foundation and organised by Singapore-based media organisation Eco-Business, TLC is billed as Asia’s largest sustainability solutions platform. It aims to provide firms developing meaningful innovations with the funding and support needed to reach commercialisation.

The ninth edition of the challenge called for submissions under two themes – decarbonisation and cool earth – focusing on carbon emissions and climate adaptation.

The eight finalists from Britain, Singapore, the United States, Japan, Estonia and France were shortlisted from 1,500 submissions across more than 100 countries. 

During the final round of the challenge, they will pitch their solutions to a panel of judges and investors at Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre. 

Two winners – from either theme – will receive $1 million each in grant funding from Temasek Foundation. The top two solutions under the decarbonisation track also stand a chance to receive up to $1 million each in development funding from Singapore research agency A*STAR, marking the largest funding injection to date in the history of the competition.

Since its launch, TLC has attracted thousands of applications globally, as well as shortlisted and incubated 54 start-ups. It has deployed more than $16 million in funding to date to help these start-ups.

Eco-Business chief commercial officer Meaghan See said: “While global politics remains divided, the urgency of the climate crisis continues to intensify, with rising temperatures and increasing climate-related disasters.”

As companies innovate solutions to tackle the effects of climate change, particularly in vulnerable regions such as the tropics, governments, financiers and corporates must now match this ambition with sustained support to scale these solutions and see them to fruition, she added.

Two of the finalists are Singapore companies, Metha8 and FlueVault. They will present their solutions on methanol-to-power generation and low-cost carbon capture and storage, respectively.

Other finalists include MacroCycle Technologies, which has developed polyester textile recycling technology, and Power to Hydrogen, a start-up behind a low-cost hydrogen production system for energy generation. Both companies are based in the US.

Japanese start-up SPACECOOL will present its radiative cooling technology as a solution to the heat island effect, where urban areas experience higher temperatures than nearby rural areas.

Endo Enterprises from Britain aims to improve cooling efficiency in commercial buildings through an energy-saving additive, while Estonia’s UP Catalyst uses carbon dioxide emissions to produce battery-grade carbon materials. In addition, France-based YAMA will showcase its fully electrified carbon capture technology.

In the 2025 edition of TLC, Singapore-based start-up KrossLinker emerged as one of the winners for its aerogel-based paint that passively cools buildings.

Canada-based start-up Ayrton Energy also took home the grand prize for its hydrogen storage and transportation solution that uses a chemical process to bind hydrogen with a carrier oil for safe transport.

This year’s finale is being held in partnership with Ecosperity Week 2026, a sustainability conference organised by Singapore investment firm Temasek, from May 18 to 21.

The registration link to attend the finale in person or virtually can be found here.