Successful proposals will get funding to develop promising breakthrough technologies for water industries worldwide

The Environment & Water Industry Development Council (EWI) is calling for research proposals to develop innovative technologies for the rapid detection of the waterborne parasite Cryptosporidium spp. in treated/potable water. 

The presence of Cryptosporidium in drinking water can cause diarrhea outbreaks.  During water treatment, the waterborne pathogen is removed through various chemical and filtration processes.  The monitoring of the presence of the parasite in potable water is hence an indication of process reliability in the upstream water treatment.

Currently, most water utilities around the world use time-consuming and labour-intensive methods for the detection of Cryptosporidium.  The whole process, from sampling preparation to producing results, usually takes about 6 hours.

Mr Harry Seah, EWI’s Director for Capability Development, said, “The current level of water quality in Singapore is high as we have a very stringent and comprehensive water quality monitoring system in place.  However, to further strengthen our water system, there is a need to develop a technology that is less time consuming and labour-intensive than the current process. Hence, the challenge is to develop an innovative detection technique which could give water utilities and operators a faster, yet accurate test result from the current 6 hours down to possibly, 1 hour.  The cut-down in time will allow us to quickly identify the problem at source and indirectly ensure that water quality remains of high standard.  We hope that this grant call will yield innovative technologies that could be developed into breakthrough products for water industries worldwide”.

This call is open to all local and overseas Institutes of Higher Learning, Research Institutes and private sector companies. Applicants are invited to submit a 5-page preliminary research proposal before the closing date on 7 October 08. Short-listed applicants will then be given another 2-3 months and a budget of S$30,000 to develop their preliminary proposals to full proposals. Interested applicants can visit the EWI website at www.mewr.gov.sg/ewi for more information.

This is EWI’s second challenge call for research proposals. Last July, EWI made its first Challenge call for research proposals for innovative seawater desalination technologies that will half the current energy requirement from 3 kilo-watt hour per cubic metre of freshwater produced to 1.5 kilo-watt hour per cubic metre. Siemens Water Technologies was awarded funding support of about $4 million in June 08 for their proposed development of a novel process that includes electrodialysis and ion exchange.

In January this year, EWI also launched its first two directed calls for proposals on the use of biological and chemical reduction-oxidation (redox) processes in raw water and used water treatment. The awarded projects would be announced next month.

About the Environment and Water Industry Development Council

The Environment and Water Industry Development Council (EWI) was set up in May 2006 under the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources (MEWR) to spearhead the development of the environment and water industry in Singapore and position Singapore as a global hydrohub.

EWI’s strategy for industry development is anchored on technology development and R&D activities to help grow the local industry cluster and to create a competitive edge for Singapore-based companies in the global market.

EWI targets to increase the value-added[1] (VA) contribution from the water sector to $1.7 billion by 2015.  Jobs for this sector are expected to double to about 11,000 by 2015.

For media enquiries, please call:

Ms Tristin Ong

Senior Corporate Communications Executive, Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources

Tel:  6731 9025 or email:  tristin_ong@mewr.gov.sg