Singapore and French start-ups win big at The Liveability Challenge with scalable green solutions

SINGAPORE – As countries around the world strive to cut planet-warming emissions, two start-ups hope to make it easier with innovative carbon capture and clean energy technologies.

On May 20, they were crowned winners of The Liveability Challenge (TLC) 2026, a global initiative that seeks solutions to address urban challenges in the tropics.

Singapore-based Metha8 has developed a system that generates clean energy by converting methanol into power and integrates carbon capture into its solution. 

“It built a new way to generate reliable, clean electricity around the clock, converting methanol into power at 60 per cent efficiency – twice the output of conventional generators from the same amount of fuel – with none of the harmful emissions,” said TLC presenter Temasek Foundation.

“Whether powering factories, data centres or off-grid communities, Metha8 offers something that has not existed before: baseload clean energy without compromise.”

Meanwhile, YAMA from France has designed a technology that can be easily integrated into existing infrastructure to capture carbon emissions from dilute gas-fired streams from sources such as gas turbines, which current carbon capture technologies struggle to do.

“YAMA has solved a problem that has stumped the carbon capture industry for decades,” Temasek Foundation said.

“Gas turbines power much of the world’s electricity grid, yet no cost-viable technology exists to capture their emissions, until now.

“YAMA’s solution works at the low CO2 concentrations that conventional approaches struggle with, delivering up to 50 per cent lower costs, and is compact enough to bolt onto existing infrastructure without modification.”

The two start-ups received $1 million each in grant funding to scale their solutions.

Established in 2018, The Liveability Challenge is an annual affair that aims to uncover ground-breaking sustainability solutions and provide the support needed to take ideas from laboratory to market.

Billed as Asia’s largest sustainability solutions platform, TLC is presented by local non-profit organisation Temasek Foundation and organised by Singapore-based media organisation Eco-Business.

The ninth edition of TLC invited companies to submit solutions centred around reducing carbon emissions and climate adaptation, based on the themes of decarbonisation and cool earth.

The 2026 challenge drew more than 1,500 submissions from over 100 countries, with eight finalists shortlisted to pitch their solutions to a panel of judges during the final round of the competition held at Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre.

In addition to the grand prize, Metha8 also secured development funding for its decarbonisation solution from Singapore research agency A*STAR, which committed up to $2 million annually over the next three years to help the finalists pilot their solutions in industrial conditions.

Metha8 co-founder and chief executive Zhaotan Xiao said he was motivated to innovate cleaner ways of powering the future while overcoming cost hurdles.

Mr Xiao worked at major investment banks, including JP Morgan and ANZ, and also served as the executive director for Redex, which operates a trading platform for renewable energy certificates in Asia. He co-founded Metha8 in 2025.

The win further fuelled his desire to prove and deliver their technology, said Mr Xiao, whose next steps include building a demonstration unit. 

“We cannot achieve speed and scale unless we are building on the shoulders of giants, so we need to make it profitable for big players to get involved in this clean-up act together,” he added. “We will be a catalyst to accelerate the energy transition.” 

YAMA was also awarded an additional $100,000 investment prize by TLC’s partner and climate venture capital firm CarbonFix.

“We’re still in the early stages of development, so the grand prize means a lot to us. It can change the company and help us deploy our solution,” said its founder and chief executive Aurelie Gonzalez, who has over 10 years of engineering expertise in carbon capture and storage deployment. 

She added that she started her own company with the goal of building solutions to save the planet, and hopes to demonstrate her technology on a larger scale. “I’m happy to see that people are still interested in (climate solutions),” she said. 

One of the finalists, Japan-based SPACECOOL, received a $100,000 investment prize for its radiative cooling technology from local private investment office Kibo Invest, also one of TLC’s partners. 

Endo Enterprises from the UK also secured a $100,000 grant from Enterprise Singapore for its energy-saving additive, which aims to improve cooling efficiency in commercial buildings. Estonia’s UP Catalyst, which turns carbon emissions into battery-grade carbon materials, won the popular vote. 

Since its launch, TLC has attracted thousands of applications globally. It has shortlisted and incubated 56 start-ups, deploying more than $18 million in funding to support them.

The 2026 edition of TLC also marked its largest funding pool to date, with up to $4.3 million being awarded during the finale. The event was held in partnership with Ecosperity Week 2026, Singapore investment firm Temasek’s flagship sustainability summit.

Temasek Foundation’s head of climate and liveability Heng Li Lang, who was also on the judging panel, said this year’s competition was stiff given the strong promise shown from the finalists across decarbonisation and cooling. 

“TLC serves as a catalytic platform for most of the innovative solutions to shine and scale,” she said. “We really hope to build this as a platform where the regional ecosystem can come together for innovators to find investors.”

Ms Heng added that TLC tracks the journey of the finalists and provides support such as clearing regulatory approvals and finding commercialisation partners, where Temasek Foundation plays the role of a matchmaker.

“We want to find good solutions to promote a greener future for generations to come.”