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UOB FinLab unveils 15 GreenTech pilots with funding of more than $100,000 to tackle sustainability challenges in ASEAN

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SINGAPORE, Nov. 4, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — UOB FinLab, the Bank’s innovation accelerator, awards a total of more than $100,000 to selected Green Technology (GreenTech) firms to pilot 15 sustainability solutions with UOB and its corporate partners across ASEAN. The pilot solutions and partnerships were unveiled today at the GreenTech Accelerator 2024 Showcase Day as part of Singapore FinTech Festival’s Insights Forum.

The GreenTech Accelerator 2024 is the second edition of UOB FinLab’s six-month regional programme that enables ASEAN GreenTech firms to grow and transform, forge partnerships and create pilots to address sustainability challenges across the region. It is designed to fast-track the development of sustainable technology solutions in Singapore and across ASEAN. This year, 33 GreenTech firms were shortlisted from more than 350 applicants to participate in the programme, of which 12 firms are from Singapore, nine from Malaysia and 12 from Thailand.

Shannon Lung, Head of UOB FinLab, said: “The GreenTech Accelerator 2024 demonstrates our ongoing commitment to build a sustainable future, leveraging collective actions and a collaborative professional network that can spur greater GreenTech breakthroughs. UOB FinLab will continue to be a catalyst for GreenTech innovation by bringing individuals, businesses, government agencies and GreenTechs together to tackle real-world sustainability challenges. We believe that with proper support from a strong network and appropriate resources, GreenTechs can make transformative progress towards ASEAN’s sustainability ambitions.”

Real challenges, Impactful solutions

According to UOB’s Business Outlook Study 2024 (SMEs & Large Enterprises), 87 per cent of businesses in ASEAN surveyed view sustainability as important for their businesses, but only 44 per cent have adopted green practices. To implement sustainability practices, about one in three cited the need for support to connect to the right solution partners. 

Addressing this need, the GreenTech Accelerator 2024 called for sustainability challenge statements from businesses across ASEAN, which highlighted real-world sustainability pain points. This year, more than 50 statements were contributed by UOB and 26 corporate partners including DKSH Healthcare, Marina Bay Sands and Ngee Ann Polytechnic from Singapore, Great Cosmo from Malaysia and IMPACT from Thailand. The challenge statements covered five key areas, namely circular economy and waste management, energy efficiency, food and agriculture, sustainable cities and urban planning, and sustainability reporting and carbon management.

During the programme, the 33 participating GreenTech firms proposed solutions based on the challenge statements and 15 pilots were selected for funding by UOB FinLab (refer to Annex for the full list of selected pilots). Six of these pilots will be deployed with corporates partners in Singapore, three pilots in Malaysia and another six pilots in Thailand.

UOB will be deploying five pilots within the Bank in Singapore and Thailand. One of the pilots is the development of a white-labelled data platform by GreenFi that enables the Bank and its subsidiaries to manage and analyse the greenhouse gas emissions data of their properties. This allows the Bank to validate emissions reporting more efficiently by eliminating manual collation of data and ensuring consistency and accuracy of the datasets.

DKSH Healthcare, part of the Swiss holding company specialising in market expansion services, will partner GreenTech firm Smart Tradzt to implement its solution that can quantify the carbon footprint and value chain collaboration of its cold chain reusable packaging. The platform will enable DKSH Healthcare to share its product carbon footprint data with clients and customers, facilitating accurate Scope 3 emissions calculations after conducting lifecycle analysis.

Malaysian plastic manufacturing company Great Cosmo will pilot GreenTech firm Co.Efficient Alpha’s voltage optimising technology in their factory. This aims to reduce energy consumption for Great Cosmo’s machineries, potentially resulting in approximately 10 per cent cost savings. In Thailand, leading event and exhibition centre IMPACT will also partner GreenTech firm GEPP Sa-Ard to pilot a holistic waste reduction programme for events held at the exhibition centre. This pilot will enable the centre, organisers and visitors to reduce waste generation, increase recycling rate and reduce overall cost of waste management.

UOB FinLab, together with its corporate partners, shortlisted the GreenTechs and their pilot solutions as they have the potential to set a new industry benchmark for sustainability practices and drive greater green adoption across ASEAN.

More programmes to drive sustainability in ASEAN

GreenTech Accelerator 2024 builds on the success of the inaugural run in 2022 in Singapore that received more than 150 applications and led to the establishment of eight pilot solutions and partnerships. This year’s programme expanded the programme’s reach beyond Singapore to UOB’s key ASEAN markets of Malaysia and Thailand.

The programme provided GreenTechs with access to masterclasses, mentorships by more than 30 regional mentors and networking opportunities. The programme also enabled the GreenTechs to deepen business connections through UOB FinLab’s vast network of 27,000 industry leaders including government agencies, solutions providers, and private and public businesses.

UOB FinLab is committed to accelerating sustainability innovation in ASEAN, with plans to launch more programmes focusing on driving adoption and innovation in sustainability in 2025. 

About UOB

UOB is a leading bank in Asia. Operating through its head office in Singapore and banking subsidiaries in China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam, UOB has a global network of around 500 offices in 19 countries and territories in Asia Pacific, Europe and North America. Since its incorporation in 1935, UOB has grown organically and through a series of strategic acquisitions. Today, UOB is rated among the world’s top banks: Aa1 by Moody’s Investors Service and AA- by both S&P Global Ratings and Fitch Ratings.

For nearly nine decades, UOB has adopted a customer-centric approach to create long-term value by staying relevant through its enterprising spirit and doing right by its customers. UOB is focused on building the future of ASEAN – for the people and businesses within, and connecting with, ASEAN.

The Bank connects businesses to opportunities in the region with its unparalleled regional footprint and leverages data and insights to innovate and create personalised banking experiences and solutions catering to each customer’s unique needs and evolving preferences. UOB is also committed to help businesses forge a sustainable future, by fostering social inclusiveness, creating positive environmental impact and pursuing economic progress. UOB believes in being a responsible financial services provider and is steadfast in its support of art, social development of children and education, doing right by its communities and stakeholders.

About UOB FinLab

UOB FinLab is the bank’s innovation accelerator that brings the ecosystem together to catalyse business growth and transformation. With a regional presence in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia, UOB FinLab provides access to a range of business and technology experts, tools and content through The FinLab Online and in-person programmes.

These programmes range from supporting the GreenTech and start-up community in developing solutions, to assisting the Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SME) community in innovating for business digitalisation and sustainability transformation. Founded in 2015, UOB FinLab has supported and connected with more than 27,000 businesses globally.

Annex: List of 15 pilots from the GreenTech Accelerator 2024

No

Pilot/partnerships

Country

Description

1

Circular Unite

UOB

Singapore

Circular Unite will deploy their waste audit and profiling blueprint at UOB that allows for detailed measuring of waste generated at the tenant level at UOB Plaza.

 

This will help create waste data visibility and potentially improve operational efficiency of waste data collection.

2

GreenFi

UOB

Singapore

GreenFi is developing a white-labelled ESG data platform that enables UOB and its subsidiaries to monitor and manage ESG emissions data of their property assets. It also seeks to enhance data analysis.

3

Smart Tradzt

UOB

Singapore

Smart Tradzt will provide training, consultation and develop an RFP evaluation model for procurement within the UOB CRES team. This model aims to help assess and integrate the ESG and emissions performance of vendors into selection criteria in the long run.

 

This pilot aims to help create cost savings through better decisions in supplier selection.

4

Smart Tradzt

DKSH Healthcare

Singapore

Smart Tradzt will provide training, consultation, and implementation of its digital Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) solution to help quantify the carbon footprint of DKSH Healthcare’s reusable packaging that will replace their styrofoam packaging.

 

Smart Tradzt’s PCF platform allows DKSH Healthcare to share PCF data with its packaging customers and facilitate accurate Scope 3 emission calculations. DKSH Healthcare also plans to publish these findings in its Sustainability Report to further enhance transparency and accountability.

 

Smart Tradzt conforms to WBCSD’s PACT (Partnership for Carbon Transparency) framework.

5

Circular Unite

Ngee Ann Polytechnic

Singapore

Circular Unite will deploy a waste-tracking IoT system to enable precise waste and recycling data collection at a tenant level, for one canteen and one office block, training of operational teams and tenant engagement.

 

This will result in an increase in waste data visibility, 30% increase in recycling efficiency, 20% increase in waste disposal efficiency and 90% increase in manpower efficiency from data collection.

6

Co.Efficient

Alpha

Great Cosmo

Malaysia

Co.Efficient Alpha aims to deploy voltage optimiser across Great Cosmo’s factory to reduce energy. This will result in greater equipment efficiency, equipment lifespan, power factor improvement and reduction of harmonics.

 

Upon installing of the voltage optimiser, Great Cosmo will see approximately 10% savings and 13 tons of carbon dioxide emissions reduced a month.

7

Intlife

HCK Capital Group

Malaysia

Intlife will deploy their energy efficiency AI system, hardware and IoT devices for HCK Setia Alam Office (2,800 sqf) to enable real-time energy consumption prediction and control for operational efficiency.

 

The pilot will also serve as a live demonstration for potential customers visiting the showroom to promote the adoption of green technologies across their own properties.

8

IVIS Tech

Great Cosmo

Malaysia

IVIS Tech will deploy a combination of hardware which includes IoT sensors, power meters and digital gateways on site at the production line for Great Cosmos at their manufacturing facility in Rawang City.

 

IVIS Tech will log data for the operations in the facility over a period of six (6) months to provide real-time visualisation of energy usage to understand better on the current processes that can be optimised.

9

Wimera

GB Industries

Malaysia

GB Industries wants to monitor energy consumption in different areas such as water heater area, dipping area, packaging area and water treatment area. Wimera is proposing their cloud-based energy monitoring solution for 1x water heater with 1x power meter for the pilot.

 

This will result in reduction in the energy consumption from GB Industries’ water heater area which currently contains 15 water heaters and consumes approximately 80k kWh of energy per month.

10

AltoTech

UOB Thailand

Thailand

AltoTech Global will provide technology to help analyse energy consumption patterns at UOB Plaza Bangkok, find gaps for energy efficiency improvement, and propose automation recommendations to help reduce energy use and cut carbon emissions.

11

Nano Coating Tech

UOB Thailand

Thailand

UOB CRES will apply Nano Coating Tech’s solution to 116 solar panels and 1,745 square metres of building glass at UOB Plaza Bangkok, including the 1st floor of the tower and link bridge, to enhance energy efficiency and reduce maintenance cost.

12

Cero

IMPACT

Thailand

IMPACT will leverage on Cero’s Carbon Event Smart Dashboard to track carbon-related data and view sustainability metrics in real-time, for selected events held at IMPACT Arena.

 

The Cero platform will encourage sustainable behaviours among attendees and aligns with IMPACT’s ongoing sustainability efforts.

13

Cero

Panyapiwat

Institute of

Management

(PIM)

Thailand

PIM wants to gamify sustainability efforts by allowing students to track and reduce their carbon footprint through various activities designed to influence daily behaviours that contribute to carbon reduction.

 

The pilot will target 200 PIM students who will engage in a variety of sustainability activities over the course of 3 months via the Cero platform. Activities include recycling, reducing waste, opting for low-carbon food options, and energy conservation.

14

GEPP Sa-Ard

IMPACT

Thailand

GEPP Sa-Ard will implement a one-stop data-driven waste management system and service to enable efficient waste data collection by location at events held at the IMPACT exhibition centre.

15

Wongphai

Kingdom Organic

Thailand

Thailand

Wongphai will provide four tonnes of biochar for Kingdom Organic to use in their organic farms, in order to improve farm productivity and align with IFOAM standards (especially in their production of kaffir lime, lemongrass, and lime).

 

Estimated crop yield improvement and increase in farm productivity due to biochar application: 1) Kaffir Lime: estimated 10-20% increase; 2) Lemongrass: potential 15-25% increase 3) Lime: estimated 10-20% increase

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SOURCE UOB

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Siyata Mobile Products Deployed by EMS Organization in Papua New Guinea

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VANCOUVER, BC, Nov. 13, 2024 /CNW/ — Siyata Mobile Inc. (Nasdaq: SYTA) (“Siyata” or the “Company”), a global vendor of Push-to-Talk over Cellular (“PoC”) devices and cellular signal booster systems, today discussed the deployment of its SD7 handsets and VK7 vehicle kits by The National St John Ambulance Service (NStJA), a trusted life-saving service in Papua New Guinea, the most populous Pacific island country.

Marc Seelenfreund, CEO of Siyata, commented, “By upgrading from standard smartphones to our ruggedized SD7 handsets and VK7 vehicle kits, NStJA is experiencing the many benefits of our solution. Our devices stand up to the demanding environments faced by first responders and medical personnel. Integrated with the Zello Push-to-Talk app, our solution for this customer is providing secure and reliable communication that far exceeds the performance of standard smartphones. Our global deployments continue to increase, and we are pleased that our reach now extends to Papua New Guinea, and we are also encouraged by the number of new customers who are selecting Zello as their preferred PTT application.” 

Mark Cannon, Chief Executive for NStJA, commented, “We provide mission-critical evacuation and medical services to residents and visitors of our country. It is absolutely critical that we have a communications solution that is reliable and effective. Since upgrading from standard smartphones and a traditional UHF radio system, our team is finding the Siyata devices to be simpler to use with a PTT button, provide loud and clear audio and have a better battery life. We are quite pleased with Siyata’s solution.”

About Siyata Mobile

Siyata Mobile Inc. is a B2B global developer and vendor of next-generation Push-To-Talk over Cellular handsets and accessories. Its portfolio of rugged PTT handsets and accessories enables first responders and enterprise workers to instantly communicate over a nationwide cellular network of choice, to increase situational awareness and save lives. Police, fire, and ambulance organizations as well as schools, utilities, security companies, hospitals, waste management companies, resorts and many other organizations use Siyata PTT handsets and accessories today.

In support of our Push-to-Talk handsets and accessories, Siyata also offers enterprise-grade In-Vehicle solutions and Cellular Booster systems enabling our customers to communicate effectively when they are in their vehicles, and even in areas where the cellular signal is weak.

Siyata sells its portfolio through leading North American cellular carriers, and through international cellular carriers and distributors.

Siyata’s common shares trade on the Nasdaq under the symbol “SYTA”, and its warrants trade under the symbol “SYTAW”.

Visit www.siyata.net and unidencellular.com to learn more.

Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and other Federal securities laws. Words such as “expects,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “seeks,” “estimates” and similar expressions or variations of such words are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Because such statements deal with future events and are based on Siyata’s current expectations, they are subject to various risks and uncertainties and actual results, performance, or achievements of Siyata could differ materially from those described in or implied by the statements in this press release. The forward-looking statements contained or implied in this press release are subject to other risks and uncertainties, including those discussed under the heading “Risk Factors” in Siyata’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), and in any subsequent filings with the SEC. Except as otherwise required by law, Siyata undertakes no obligation to publicly release any revisions to these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. References and links to websites and social media have been provided as a convenience, and the information contained on such websites or social media is not incorporated by reference into this press release.

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SOURCE Siyata Mobile Inc.

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Forsea Achieves Record-Breaking Cell Density for Its Cultivated Seafood

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Forsea’s technology sets new industry standard, paving the way for affordable cultivated seafood production.

REHOVOT, Israel, Nov. 13, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Cell-cultivated seafood innovator Forsea struck a major breakthrough in making freshwater eel farming a viable commercial reality. The start-up announced its organoid technology reached a record-breaking cell density of more than 300 million cells/ml, and with minimal and precise use of cultured media ingredients.

This is the highest cell density recorded in the field, moving Forsea to the forefront of cultured seafood production efficiency. The landmark technology allows for a scalable and highly cost-effective supply for the hugely popular traditional Japanese delicacy, eel (unagi) whose availability has been significantly hampered by overfishing and the destruction of aquatic ecosystems.

Eel is Big in Japan

Forsea is currently focusing on manufacturing cultured freshwater eel due to the immense market potential, particularly in Japan. As the world’s largest consumer of eel, Japan recorded sales of 140,000 tons in 2023—50% of total global sales. The traditional Japanese dish unagi (eel) is considered a premium delicacy, prized not only for its rich flavor and tender texture but also because of its rarity. Freshwater eel is endangered and cannot be commercially bred in captivity. Demand for eel far surpasses the industry’s current supply capabilities, translating to skyrocketing prices.

Better, faster, and economical

Setting a new standard for “blue ocean” initiatives, Forsea created a new approach to cell cultivating fish tissues outside of their native water habitats via organoid technology. Forsea’s patent-protected platform involves creating the ideal environment for animal cells to spontaneously assemble into three-dimensional tissue structures with their natural composition of fat, muscle and connective tissue.

This method not only echoes the natural growth process of these tissues in a living animal, giving it a closer-to-nature edge, it bypasses the scaffolding stage and is dramatically less dependent on expensive growth factors. This makes the process highly affordable and positions its cell-grown version to price parity (or potentially lower)  with traditional aquafarmed eel, a key challenge the cell-based industry was desperate to overcome.

Ample affordable cultivated eel not oceans away

“The breakthrough to this level of cell density highlights the strength of our organoid technology,” exclaims Moria Shimoni, CTO of Forsea. “It’s a validation of our approach to high-efficiency cultivation of seafood to meet both economic and sustainability goals at scale”.

After completing its proof-of-concept continuous harvesting process, Forsea reports it is ready to take production of its cultured fish products to the next phase of commercial scale-up.

“Forsea’s organoid technology requires less capital expenditure than other technologies,” explains Roee Nir, Founder and CEO of Forsea. “Achieving this level of cell density with minimal resources will translate to substantial reductions in the unit of economics and will bring cultured seafood production to a cost that is actually below the traditional market price. This is major milestone for Forsea and validates our vision of making sustainable, high-quality seafood affordable and widely accessible. It also sets a powerful precedent for scaling other cultured seafood products and establishing sustainable alternative supply chains for ecologically sensitive species.”

Forsea’s cell-cultured eel is expected to ease the strain on the world’s eel populations and reduce environmental impact of traditional eel farming. This encompasses reducing global warming potential, water consumption, and land use and alleviated pressure on marine ecosystems by focusing on endangered species.

“Our recent industry survey shows that cultivated meat production is definitely not a one-size-fits-all approach,” says Elliot Swartz, Principal Scientist Cultivated Meat, GFI. “It’s encouraging to see positive data from companies showing how different methods can address challenges in cost and scale. I’m especially pleased to see a GFI research grantee, Dr. Iftach Nachman, help a startup pioneer new ways of cultivating meat. This is a great example of how foundational open-access science enables and makes possible follow-on work by the private sector.”   

The company is preparing for commercial launch of its unagi product in 2026. Earlier this year, Forsea held a successful tasing event at the reputable ‘a’ restaurant in Tel Aviv, where it served the world’s first cultivated unagi kabayaki—grilled fresh eel on a bed of aromatic rice—receiving rave reviews. Among the tasters where representatives from the Japanese embassy and various Japanese food companies based in Israel.

About Forsea
Forsea was founded by biotech engineer Roee Nir, MBA; Moria Shimoni, PhD; Iftach Nachman, PhD; and Yaniv Elkouby, PhD with support from the Israeli Innovation Authority (IIA) and The Kitchen Hub. It has garnered seed backing from Target Global, PeakBridge VC, Future Food Fund, Zora Ventures, FoodHack, and M&H Ventures. Forsea’s organoid approach to cultivating fish tissue involves creating an ideal environment for fish cells to spontaneously form their natural composition of native fat and muscle. They grow as a three-dimensional tissue structure, just as in nature.

For more information, contact:

Company Contact

Forsea Foods Ltd.

Roee Nir, CEO and Co-Founder

Email: info@forseafoods.com

Web:   www.forseafoods.com 

Press Contact

NutriPR

Liat Simha

Tel: +972-9-9742893

E-mail: liat@nutripr.com

Web: www.nutripr.com

 

Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2555423/Forsea_Foods.jpg

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SOURCE Forsea Foods

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EP3® Technology Powers $560 Million in U.S. Election Contracts: The Invisible Engine Behind ForecastEx’s Fast-Growing Predictions Market

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AUSTIN, Texas, Nov. 13, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — ForecastEx, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Interactive Brokers (IBKR) and a US-regulated predictions exchange and clearinghouse, processed an impressive $560 million+ in election contracts for the 2024 U.S. general election. The innovative technology driving those contracts? Connamara Technologies’ EP3 ® matching engine and exchange platform.

The election showed EP3’s resilience and commitment to seamless, high-volume processing for predictive events.

In the days leading up to – and during – election night, EP3 operated like the gears of a fine timepiece: inconspicuous, vital, and unfaltering. This synchronicity of unyielding performance weathered waves of volatility and seamlessly processed trades at a record volume.

Working in concert with ForecastEx’s internal teams, Connamara Technologies’ engineers monitored systems around the clock, ready to respond to surges in trade volume with precision and expertise. The team’s commitment went beyond standard duty, ensuring unparalleled service during this first-in-a-lifetime historic trading event.

With EP3 powering its trading, ForecastEx has not only established a benchmark for transparency in elections but has also offered the public real-time, market-based insights into election sentiment. EP3 operates from a legacy of trading knowledge that dates back to the late 1980s.

“While you may not recognize the name EP3 just yet, you’ll certainly recognize our impact. Whether you placed a trade or watched from afar, the 2024 election proved our technology’s resilience and our team’s commitment to deliver seamless, high-volume processing at every turn for future predictive events,” said Jim Downs, Co-Founder and CEO of Connamara Technologies.

As predictions markets continue to grow, the unseen elements – the EP3 technology and the engineers who support it – will remain crucial to providing reliable, transparent platforms that allow for public sentiment to be expressed and analyzed in real-time. Moving forward, Connamara Technologies aims to expand EP3’s reach, enabling new exchanges and markets to take advantage of this dependable backbone technology.

About Connamara Technologies

Connamara Technologies is the leading provider of fully-integrated exchange infrastructure, empowering new and existing exchanges to operate with exceptional efficiency and reliability. Its EP3 platform is a new breed of exchange and clearing technology that seamlessly integrates all key functions into a single, robust platform. It is cost-accessible, adaptable, scalable and quick-to-market. Engineered for the evolving needs of the next generation of exchanges and marketplaces, EP3 is shaping the future of financial markets.

For more, visit www.connamara.tech or LinkedIn.

Media Contact:

Claire Downs
marketing@connamara.tech

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SOURCE Connamara Technologies

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