Temasek Foundation partners US-based startup for outdoor cooling solution

Singapore

SINGAPOREANS' days of avoiding outdoor dining for fear of sweating into one's meal might soon be over. US-based startup Phononic on Friday introduced a solid-state bladeless fan in partnership with Temasek Foundation on a project called OACIS (Outdoor Active Cooling in Singapore).

Phononic, a global innovator in solid-state cooling and heating technology, unveiled the first of its OACIS installations: three units at Octapas Spanish Tapas Bar in Clarke Quay. Five other units have been set up at Jurong Lake Gardens with installation partner Singapore Power Group, with more to come at outdoor sites in Sentosa and Gardens by the Bay later in the year.

Concerns over Singapore's heat and humidity levels have been mounting, with Meteorological Service Singapore estimating that the island is heating up twice as fast as the rest of the world, or 0.25 degrees Celsius per decade.

Unfortunately, outdoor cooling solutions have thus far proven inadequate, said Temasek Foundation ecosperity chief executive Lim Hock Chuan. "We hope that many of these problems - humidity reduction, lower energy consumption, effective cooling - can be addressed by OACIS fans in a very sustainable way."

The first OACIS installations can create a cooled zone of 12 to 14 square metres that lowers the temperature by up to 10 deg C and humidity by up to 15 per cent compared to the surrounding environment.

The units share almost nothing in common with the traditional cooling solutions of bladed fans, which create turbulent air but are unable to change temperature and humidity, and air-conditioners, which use energy-draining compressors and toxic or environmentally harmful refrigerants.

OACIS units use carbon dioxide and water as non-toxic refrigerants, using thermoelectric semiconductor technology to extract heat and humidity from the environment to produce and circulate drier, cooler air. An OACIS bladeless fan consumes about 20 to 60 per cent of the energy of a conventional fan.

"Singapore has set the scene for the rest of the world, and together we're delivering sustainable cooling solutions," said Phononic president and CEO Tony Atti.

All eight OACIS units were developed and manufactured in Singapore and Malaysia. Further enhancements, additional installations and mass production of the fans are scheduled for the second half of 2020.

In future, Phononic will look at integrating OACIS into the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems of residential and commercial buildings. For the OACIS project's development and manufacturing process, Temasek Foundation provided funding of US$1 million (or S$1.4 million).

"I'm happy to say that so far, we've been very pleased with the development and have exceeded our targets by a great amount," said Mr Lim.

Temasek Foundation has supported 26 projects to address specific environmental challenges using technology, and committed more than S$30 million in funding them.