Grundfos inks MoU with Ngee Ann Polytechnic

To support sustainable urbanisation in Southeast Asia, Grundfos and NP will be jointly exploring and developing smart sustainable solutions for the region’s built environment, as well as driving initiatives focused on UN Sustainability Development Goals such as SDG6 (clean water and sanitation) and SDG13 (sustainable consumption and production patterns) for climate action.

By 2030, Southeast Asia’s urban population is expected to grow by another 100 million people[1]. This growth will drive up new build demand, with nearly half of new construction globally expected to come from the region by 2040[2]. Construction comes with a significant carbon footprint – ASEAN's buildings sector accounted for 24% of energy-related carbon emissions in 2019[3]. With Southeast Asia being one of the most vulnerable regions to climate change, the sector’s sustainable ambitions are high on the region’s agenda.

The partnership will see both parties contributing complementary expertise, knowledge, and talent that will advance sustainability efforts for the commercial building industry. NP will facilitate the various touchpoints between academia and industry, while Grundfos will tap into its extensive network and industry knowledge to provide staff and students with the necessary resources and industry opportunities to successfully co-develop innovative sustainable solutions. These solutions will be subsequently implemented across the NP campus as well as Grundfos’ facilities.

To achieve this, the 3-year partnership will focus on sustainability education and talent development. Grundfos and NP will look to roll out a comprehensive range of solution packages, projects, events, courses, and trainings to proactively promote smart sustainability to the industry, which includes webinar sharing sessions, seminars, and conferences.

To build talent pipelines and foster talent development, Grundfos will also be working closely with NP across various programmes such as mentorship programmes, book prizes, student projects, and internships. One such initiative includes Grundfos’ sponsorship of the annual book prizes for NP’s School of Design & Environment (DE).

Kenth Hvid Nielsen, Grundfos’ Regional Managing Director, APAC, Commercial Buildings, said, “The built environment and construction sector is responsible for more greenhouse gas emissions than any other sector of the economy. As Southeast Asia’s population grows and becomes increasingly urbanised, it is important to identify a sustainable way forward. With sustainability being a key part of Grundfos’ DNA, today’s partnership demonstrates our commitment to introducing cleaner, more energy efficient technologies that can help the built environment sector reduce its energy consumption and overall carbon footprint. We look forward to working with NP to achieve that, by spurring innovative thinking among our younger generations that can help advance the entire region’s sustainability trajectory.”

Mr Lim Kok Kiang, Ngee Ann Polytechnic’s Principal & CEO, said, “At NP, we pride ourselves on our commitment to environmental sustainability. This is best exemplified by our award-winning green campus that harnesses smart technology and sustainable solutions provided by long-standing partners like Grundfos. We believe the built environment presents important opportunities for students to use design-thinking approach and smart technologies to better create and manage living and working spaces in a sustainable way. Working with Grundfos will empower both students and staff with the necessary resources and opportunities to innovate in the area of urban sustainability.”

As part of NP’s green campus initiatives, Grundfos has notably worked closely with NP’s Environmental & Water Technology Centre of Innovation (EWTCOI) to revisit the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system design for one of the campus buildings (Block 22), and subsequently retrofitted the system with its Distributed Pumping solution. The new solution provided sustainable cooling for the building, pushing the existing Green Mark Platinum building to achieve greater energy efficiencies, while still maintaining a cool, comfortable environment throughout the building. The project also saw a 54 per cent pump system kWh energy savings.

[1] Florida, R. and M. Fasche (2017). The Rise of the Urban Creative Class in Southeast Asia, Martin Prosperity Institute, Toronto.
[2] Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction. Regional Roadmap for Buildings and Construction in Asia 2020-2050.
[3] International Energy Agency (2020). ASEAN Roadmaps Towards Sustainable and Energy Efficient Buildings and Cooling in Southeast Asia.