Clean technology is a typical time length for technological know-how that ambitions to restrict reliance on nonrenewable property and promotes sustainability. This thinking is promoted through agencies like the Clean Technology Trade Alliance, a worldwide employer with a hobby in making tomorrow’s IT world more energy-efficient and lots much less wasteful. For example, switching electricity from coal or different fossil fuels to photovoltaic or hydropower is thought to be an easy technological expertise initiative. Some professionals add that the use of the time length “clean technology” or “cleantech” can suggest a market-driven software with a financial incentive. Clean technology expertise will proceed to be vital trouble inside the IT local as governments and businesses replicate on consideration on the fees of immoderate power consumption.

(Credits: Unsplash)

Since numerous Asian cities are battling to manage the results of climate change, cleantech proceeds to supply clean innovation. In specific, a number of later ventures in cleantech new businesses have been made in Southeast Asia. An activity to construct more keen vitality applications inside the locale has been set up by the Modern Vitality Nexus Southeast Asia stage. They are working to contribute to and connect new businesses over the nation, trusting to make the clefts of Southeast Asia CleanTech Startup (Tech Collective, 2020).

Cleantech Categories 

This class of clean tech categories consists of improvements that utilize, velocity up and permit the utilization of renewable electrical energy belongings in addition to energy manufacturing from preference sources such as sewage, substances, and heat. It consists of utilized sciences such as low-emission strength sources (example: solar, biofuels) and applied sciences that make use of waste streams to produce energy such as electricity from landfills or manure. 

1. Energy efficiency

This segment involves applied sciences that facilitate saving power at home and in industrial processes. Saving electricity positively affects power expenses and additionally decreases greenhouse fuel emissions. Some examples of such utilized sciences are enterprise energy management, energy analytics, pure manufacture techniques, industrial gadget improvements, waste wariness recovery, LED lighting, and smart plugs.

2. Energy distribution and storage

It consists of applied sciences that facilitate electricity transport and furnish commercial, residential and industrial customers with more extensive manipulation over how and when their electrical energy is delivered and utilized. Some of the areas it covers are enhancements in all sorts of electricity storage and strategies for developing or controlling the electricity transmission effectiveness or storage. 

3. Transportation

Under this class comes contemporary science that no longer completely enhances the mobility methods and talent, also decreases the environmental result of mobility markets. It covers transportation and cell science functions that limit air pollution, contains developing biofuels for transportation, reduces vehicle experience (not limited to automobiles), minimizes air pollution, or decorate gasoline efficiency. Examples of such applied sciences are fleet administration software program application and hardware systems, logistics management, cold-ironing systems, gas phone vehicles, drivetrain conversion systems, combustion designs, and biodiesel applications.

4. Information and Communications Technologies (ICT)

Under this category come corporations whose key organizations are developed spherical software program format improvements, computing hardware, or the utility of web, IT, social or cellular functions to minimize environmental consequences and beneficial useful resource consumption. Examples of such utilized sciences are carpooling solutions, cloud-primarily based features and services, modeling software, exploiting vicinity and GPS information, mashup, power bargain software, and cell and internet features to bring up environmental awareness.

5. Agriculture, water, and waste

Applications in this class core on bettering conservation, useful resource availability, and air pollution control.

• Agriculture covers novel farming applied sciences that decrease the choice for sources required to produce food, make certain sustainable meals safe, and enhance the grant chain. Examples are sustainable animal and plant nutrient products, ingredients processing, soil technology, indoor cultivation systems, manufacturing of sustainable fertilizers and manufacturing of micro-irrigation, and clever drip solutions.
• Water has to do with novel technological picks consuming water distribution, remedy, or usage. Some examples are on-site water monitoring, reverse osmosis, cooling solutions, recycling of microbial water treatment, rainwater harvesting, storm-water, and flood control. 
• Waste amenities on cradle-to-cradle techniques to reduction, recycling and reuse utilized sciences in addition to genuine organization fashions and strategies to elements utilization. Some examples are CHP (combined warmness and power), waste cleanup and remediation and reprocessing technologies.

6. Chemicals and Advanced Materials

This surprisingly new technological understanding class covers technological know-how that reduces or does away with the technology or utilization of hazardous assets in chemical merchandise or materials. Examples of such utilized sciences are manufacturing of algae-based chemical merchandise (usable for client merchandise such as luggage, fixtures, and carpets) and plant forestry-feedstocks; manufacture of new biodegradable material, science for developing chemical compounds and fuels from natural gas, novel flame retardant polymers, manufacture of herbal rubber latex for scientific merchandise and manufacture of polymers from recycled pollutants.

The Cleantech Development in Southeast Asia

Just like the rest of the world, the growing concern for the environment is also happening in Southeast Asian countries. Clean technology stimulates sustainable development that is needed as one of the solutions to global warming concerns, and therefore innovations are needed (Guo et. al, 2020). In 2014, OECD stated that the ten member countries of the Association of Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN) will need to shift to a more sustainable development path to sustainable economic growth, reduce poverty and achieve durable gains in well-being. Cleantech plays an important role in achieving greener growth in the region.

We see that the innovation of clean technology in the Southeast Asia region has been rapidly developing over the years, due to many investments allocated to the industry. Mainly driven by the rising incomes, industrialization, and urbanization, the energy demand in Southeast Asian countries will grow by 60% by 2040 (IEA, 2019). Innovations are needed to meet the growth in demand for energy. In 2011, the Asian Development Bank invested USD 20 million into clean technology venture firms in Southeast Asia.             

Southeast Asian Startups’ Contribution for a Greener Sustainability 

                  Credits: businessinsider

Southeast Asia has joined the market in the industry of clean technology. It may be a developing industry, but cleantech has grown into one of the top largest venture capital investment sectors. Because the population of Southeast Asia (in particular) is growing and has historically been a step behind in its development compared to other regions, the green startups of this region must be recognized. 

As many Asian cities struggle to deal with the effects of climate change, cleantech is steadily providing the solutions that they all need. Many startups that care about green sustainability have sprung up. Their focus is on areas as diverse as sun-powered control, biodigester, and many more. 

There are several Southeast Asian startups that have been in the industry. The startups are: 

1. ATEC

ATEC, brief for ATEC Biodigesters Worldwide, a Cambodia-based cleantech startup, is on a mission to form a “shrewd cultivating community” in which agriculturists utilize ATEC biodigester innovation to create more wage whereas working less. The biodigester works by handling cultivated squander for clean cooking into free biogas and natural manure for way better crops and more advantageous soil.

These biodigesters empower agriculturists to spare around USD 521 per year as they create free manure and gas to move forward in their lives. ATEC has been able to present a PAYGO show to extend access to its biodigesters through this subsidizing. PAYGO, brief for Pay As You Go, may be an unused financing that empowers country ranchers.

2. Third Wave Power

Third Wave Control may be a start-up based in Singapore that points to control individuals around the world through the improvement of convenient control arrangements. Their renewable vitality is valuable for hands-on work, crisis back-up circumstances, and open-air situations. 

Their interesting offering point is that sun oriented control and IoT innovations are combined to permit off-grid control and to combine sun based, IoT, and sensor arrangements to encourage the development of savvy, green cities. One of their products is Jugnu Solar Lightbox & Phone Charger. We can also charge our phone with this lamp, and still, with solar energy. 

3. Sensorflow

Another Singapore-based cleantech company, Sensorflow, centers on vitality effectiveness in inns. To gather real-time information from inn rooms and mechanize the temperature of the room concurring to visitor conduct, they utilize remote sensors. 

These adjustments permit lodgings to spare up to 30% on vitality utilization. In expansion, their demonstration, with prescient support highlights that make it savvy as well as green, is considered flexible and straightforward to install.

4. RAD Green Solutions

The Philippines-based RAD Green Arrangements is another economical innovation trade committed to advertising arrangements to regular issues, centering on naturally inviting squander administration. Their equipment, called PYROCLAVE, treats both solid waste and infectious medical waste through non-incineration technology. Additionally, the system is water-free, resulting in less water contamination than other methods. In the future, they will continue working on other solutions such as treatment storage and disposal facilities, as well as modular containerized sewage treatment plants.

5. Cleverheat

Cleverheat, moreover based within the Philippines, may be a cleantech company that points to utilizing sun powered control for cooling rather than power. The Philippines has customarily had a tall rate of the post-harvest misfortune of vegetables due to over the top power costs. Post-harvest disappointment leads to other concerns, such as a need for nourishment security, as well as issues with squander administration. 

The innovation of Cleverheat makes a difference: ranchers keep their crops refrigerated with warm control, coming about in less squander, a more ample supply of nourishment, more farmers’ benefits, and a diminishment in carbon emissions.

Climate change is not an issue with an easy solution, but we all need to do our part to help build a “greener world.” Cleantech may be part of the solution, but as the industry continues to expand, many start-ups will face some challenges, ranging from capital efficiency to funding shortages and wide competitive markets. 

Smart market strategies and sound investments will ensure that these five businesses, and others like them, continue to expand and produce goods that allow us to fix one piece of technology at a time around the world.

Future Prospect for Cleantech Startup in SEA

Southeast Asian countries offer huge opportunities for the clean technology industry as many investors are showing interest in the region. The Southeast Asia region has the highest renewable energy mix penetration among Asia, 45.7% on average. Among the countries in the region, the highest share of renewable energy consumption are Myanmar (68%), Sri Lanka (51.3%), the Philippines (47.5%), and Indonesia (47%), mainly driven by hydropower and bioenergy (REN21, 2019).

With the increasing demand for energy and a growing concern of global warming and climate change, shifting into renewable energy is important to achieve universal access to modern energy. Regions have set targets and taken regional approaches to renewable energy. Countries in the Southeast Asia region have set out an ambitious renewable energy target, aiming to achieve a 23% renewables share in the energy mix of its member countries by 2025 (REN21, 2019).  

In 2020, the investment for cleantech reached over USD 2 billion globally (The Cleantech Group, 2020). However, the investment trends in Southeast Asia are varying, depending on each countries’ economic capability and policies. 

In 2018, Cambodia received the most investment for hydropower development, due to its abundant hydroelectric resources. In 2017, Indonesia’s investment in geothermal accounted for around 90% of the USD 800 million investment (REN21, 2019). Meanwhile, Thailand, Vietnam, and Malaysia have large renewables investment markets, mainly allocated for solar PV and solar thermal development. Collaboration opportunities for start-up companies across the region are huge, as ASEAN is planning to accelerate the energy collaboration between its members. 

In the end, the prospects for cleantech startups are bright. However, the Covid-19 pandemic showed the problem with current energy sources in Southeast Asia, which are fossil fuels. It is reported that decarbonization, decentralization, and digitization are the main elements for Southeast Asian energy transitions (World Resource Institute, 2020).  

Clean Tech Role for Environmental Sustainability in SEA

The Southeast Asia region is a major contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions. Moreover, each country is facing concerns related to climate and environmental changes. Massive urbanization that is happening in the region leads to air pollution challenges and poor air quality (REN21, 2019). 

Cleantech plays a big role in environmental sustainability in the Southeast Asia region. A sustainable clean technology could contribute to a sustainable society while at the same time promoting environmental protection and also economic development (Guo et. al, 2020).   

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As a home for more than 671 million people and a major contributor to the global greenhouse emission, Southeast Asia have put much effort into tackling the problems. The region is diverse and dynamic, but its similarity is that the policymakers in each country have been intensifying their efforts to ensure an affordable and more sustainable energy sector. 

Cleantech has an important role in delivering a sustainable society. Fortunately, cleantech startups have been showing up across the region. Each country has their startups with great growth potential. The future outlook offers opportunities for collaborations between countries’ startups.        

Co-Writing with @RistyaSangaji