Qatar-Singapore Joint Innovation Challenge

BACKGROUND OF THE PROBLEM

Qatar's National Vision 2030 includes provisions for responsible management of the environment with harmony and balance between economic, social development and environmental protection.

In support of the National Vision, MATAR is keen to explore usage of sustainable energy sources for its asset operations. Solar energy is a renewable and clean source of energy that can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and combat climate change. Floating solar panels at sea can offer a promising way to harness this energy without compromising land use.

Solar panels on sea surface have some advantages over land-based ones, such as:

• They do not take up valuable land that could be used for other purposes.
• They can produce more electricity, as they are cooled by the water and the wind, which improves their efficiency. According to a study by Utrecht University, floating solar panels at sea perform almost 13% better on average than panels installed on land, and in some months they even generated 18% more energy. The difference is due to the lower temperatures at sea and less cloud cover.

Floating solar energy solutions are already in use at a number of sites around the world, but on lakes, rather than the sea. Some of the problems that need to be solved before solar panels on sea can be effectively adopted are:

• Salt corrosion and marine fouling: Solar panels on the sea are exposed to salt water, marine organisms and bird droppings that can damage the materials and reduce the efficiency of the panels. Therefore, solar panels on sea need to be more durable and resistant to these environmental factors than solar panels on land.
• Impact from Waves: Waves can cause the panels to tilt or move, affecting their orientation and stability
• Anchoring and cabling: Solar panels on sea need to be securely anchored to the seabed or floating platforms, which may require additional costs and engineering solutions.
• Transmission of Energy: Solar panels on sea need to be connected to the grid or storage systems by underwater cables, which may pose technical difficulties
• Access: Due to being sea-based, the maintenance of these panels requires special resources and tools

Matar is therefore looking for novel solutions that solve some of the key challenges associated with floating solar panels including:

1. Durability: To protect the solar panels from salt corrosion and marine fouling, special coating materials and methods are needed to make the panels more durable and resistant.
2. Efficiency: Cleaning technologies are needed to remove the dirt and debris that may accumulate on the panels and reduce their efficiency; these may include self-cleaning coatings, robotic cleaners, or water jets to keep the panels clean.
3. Adaptability Design: To cope with the shading and wave effects, solar panels on sea need to have adaptive and resilient designs that can optimise their performance and stability in different conditions; these may include using bifacial solar panels that can capture light from both sides, or tilting mechanisms that can adjust the orientation of the panels according to the sun position and wave direction.
4. Anchoring: To securely anchor the solar panels to the seabed or floating platforms, innovative anchoring solutions are needed to reduce the costs and engineering challenges; these may include using mooring systems, tension-leg platforms, or spar buoys to anchor the panels.
5. Maintenance: To access & maintain these panels at their optimum efficiency.
6. Grid Connection: To connect sea-based solar panels to the grid or storage systems, underwater cables need to be developed that can withstand the water pressure and currents, and minimise technical difficulties.

Given the multitude of challenges that need to be solved before solar panels on the sea can be effectively adopted, it is proposed that this open innovation call is initially limited to address the first 5 innovation challenges outlined above. That is, the ‘Grid Connection’ is excluded from this open innovation call.

MATAR acknowledges that a single solution provider might not be able to solve all 5 challenges at once. Hence, we are willing to consider any solution that helps to solve any of the issues mentioned though with preferences given to providers able to solve multiple of these challenges.

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TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS / PERFORMANCE CRITERIA:

Technical Requirements:

• Solutions providers should have previous experience with developing similar solutions
• Solutions providers should have the ability to deliver and install working prototype sea-based solar energy solutions comprising of:
  1. Durable, adaptable, efficient and sea-anchored system
  2. Solar to-energy conversion measurement instrumentation to continually monitor the efficiency of solution at sea
  3. Remote sensing and control capability where data and instructions are transmitted via mobile or satellite connections back to the land base of operation
• Ability to make multiple trips to sea installation to make adjustments to optimise the operation of the prototype unit
• Provision of reports demonstrating of efficacy of the solution throughout the trial period
• Provide recommendations on future solution design incorporating lessons learned during trial
• Provision of detailed design and proposal for an efficient scaled-up solution

Performance Criteria:

Performance criteria will be assessed on a case-by-case basis depending on the specific proposal.

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COST TARGET

Cost targets will be determined on a case-by-case basis.

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TIMEFRAME FOR DEVELOPMENT

Phase 1 POC development: 2-4 months

Phase 2 Roll-out: to be determined on a case-by-case basis

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POTENTIAL MARKET / BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY

If the solution is successful, we are willing to support a further roll-out with other countries in the area that have bordering sea shores.

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RESOURCES

1. Up to S$130,000 funding from QRDI Council to support solution development and piloting
   
2. Up to S$20,000 grant support from EnterpriseSG
3. Specific support by the end-user including (but not limited to):
   • Access to the end-user to enable domain knowledge
   • Access to relevant datasets
   • Access to co-working space and lab facilities

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OTHER CONSIDERATIONS

For novel IP is being generated as part of the collaboration, QRDI Council will follow its IP policy in line with its open innovation directive and practices. please refer to the following link QRDI Intellectual Property Policy.pdf (windows.net)

BACKGROUND OF THE PROBLEM

In today's economy, transportation and logistics play a crucial role, leading to substantial investments in airports, seaports, and logistics capacity worldwide. These investments, costing billions and having long lead times, are essential to meet growing demand. Yet, there are alternative ways to increase capacity and economic growth. By utilising cutting-edge AI, particularly deep reinforcement learning, we can devise smarter allocation strategies to achieve an estimated 10% throughput increase.

This project aims to use deep reinforcement learning to address high-value resource allocation challenges for industries like seaports, airports, train terminals, and logistics centres.

These industries currently rely on a mix of human decision-making and traditional resource management systems (RMS), governed by simple rules and constraints. However, traditional RMS tools, struggle to consider trade-offs over different time frames, historical behavior patterns, or adapt to new information. This complexity surpasses human cognitive capacity and traditional RMS computational capabilities. Solving it requires quantum computing or reinforcement learning to devise novel strategies to balance trade-offs and navigate short-term and long-term scenarios.

OPPORTUNITY

The advancements in Analytics & AI present an untapped opportunity to:

• Create unconventional asset resource allocation strategies more cost-effectively than expanding infrastructure.
• Achieve a higher level of efficiency and greater rewards, targeting at least a 10% increase over baseline scenarios.
• Reduce lost economic activity due to lengthy expansion lead times or scarce capital funding.
• Potentially avoid the expansion cost for projects where authorities face scarce capital funding.
• Broaden the decision-making scope to encompass customer experience, commercial considerations, and partner considerations.

Examples of Competitive Scenarios

In airport scenarios, we might face decisions like:

• Prioritising a full A380 aircraft (400 passengers) with long layovers and high duty-free spending over two smaller A320 aircraft (100 PAX each) with short connection times.
• Deciding to keep a stand as a buffer due to frequent delays.

The solution should include:

• A user-configurable interface for adjusting reward/penalty levels for desirable and undesirable behaviours.
• A stochastic policy that introduces nonlinearity and randomness for solving complex real-world resource allocation problems.

 

Adaptability to suit various industries and resource management challenges. MATAR acknowledges the necessity of domain knowledge and offers its expertise to enable solution providers to create scalable solution for potential customers post-implementation.

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TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS / PERFORMANCE CRITERIA:

Technical Requirements:

• Solutions providers should have previous experience with developing solutions utilising ‘Reinforcement Learning’
• Solution providers should be capable of delivering and installing a working prototype. This prototype should include:
  1. Reinforcement Learning model for recommending airport-stand allocation scenarios based on user-defined and weighted rewards criteria.
  2. Provision of reports illustrating the benefits and trade-offs of various allocation strategies, including a comparison with MATAR's existing simple 'rules-based' gates allocation scheme.
• Solution providers should offer recommendations for future solution design, integrating lessons learned during the trial.
• Detailed design and a proposal for a cost-effective scaled-up solution that can seamlessly integrate recommended airport resource allocation into the existing resource management system (RMS).

 

Performance Criteria:

Performance criteria will be assessed on a case-by-case basis depending on the specific proposal.

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COST TARGET

Cost targets will be determined on a case-by-case basis.

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TIMEFRAME FOR DEVELOPMENT

Phase 1 POC development: 2-4 months

Phase 2 Roll-out: to be determined on a case-by-case basis

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POTENTIAL MARKET / BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY

If the solution is successful, we are willing to support a further roll-out in locations such as airports, sea-ports, road or air freight fleets and logistics centres.

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RESOURCES

1. Up to S$130,000 funding from QRDI Council to support solution development and piloting
   
2. Up to S$20,000 grant support from EnterpriseSG
3. Specific support by the end-user including (but not limited to):
   • Access to the end-user to enable domain knowledge
   • Access to relevant datasets
   • Access to co-working space and lab facilities

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OTHER CONSIDERATIONS

For novel IP is being generated as part of the collaboration, QRDI Council will follow its IP policy in line with its open innovation directive and practices. please refer to the following link QRDI Intellectual Property Policy.pdf (windows.net)

BACKGROUND OF THE PROBLEM

Increasing global demand for clean water has led to a surge in sludge production, posing significant challenges for municipalities, industrial wastewater treatment firms, and private asset owners. MATAR acknowledges this challenge and seeks economically viable options for sludge recovery and recycling at its onsite Wastewater Treatment Plant.

Usage of sludge produced by wastewater treatment plants includes and is not limited to the following:

• Recycling: Primarily in agriculture, this includes reinstating eroded sites, forestry, and urban landscaping. Recycling enables the reintroduction of sludge elements (carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus) into geochemical cycles.
• Energy recovery: Conversion into biogas, syngas, bio-oil, further converted into electricity, mechanical energy, and heat.
• Sludge as a source of high-value materials for products like animal feeds, bioplastics, biofuels, and bio stimulants.
• Usage in development or derivative of construction materials.
• Usage in construction materials development.

The recycling and recovery of dry sludge from wastewater treatments faces several challenges:

1. Sludge treatment techniques are influenced by local climate conditions, with temperature affecting treatment performance.
2. Incineration is sometimes preferred for sludge volume reduction but may generate harmful emissions and ash residues.
3. Direct land application as agricultural fertilizers poses potential nitrogen leakage into groundwater, and sludge may contain heavy metals, pathogens, and organic pollutants.
4. Thermochemical conversion technologies for energy recovery face challenges, including high costs, technical difficulties, and market barriers.
5. Thermochemical conversion technologies can be applied to sludge for energy recovery, However, these technologies also face some challenges such as high capital and operating costs, technical difficulties, and market barriers.

MATAR seeks innovative solutions to address these challenges through:

• Advanced Analytical Methods: Employ techniques like life cycle assessment, techno-economic analysis, and multi-criteria decision analysis to evaluate sludge management options' environmental and economic performance.
• Thermochemical Conversion Refinement: Develop cost-effective thermochemical conversion technologies (pyrolysis, gasification, etc.) to produce valuable products from sludge, reducing its volume and mass.
• Nutrient Recovery: Improve techniques for recovering nutrients like phosphorus and nitrogen from sludge and its byproducts.
• Novel Valorization Pathways: Explore innovative pathways involving microalgae and purple bacteria cultures growing on sludge. These pathways can yield high-quality proteins, lipids, and carbohydrates for applications such as animal feed, bioplastics, biofuels, and bio-stimulants, while reducing organic matter and nutrient content in the sludge.

In light of the challenges in making sludge recovery and recycling economically viable, MATAR is interested in exploring innovative combinations for these processes at its onsite Wastewater Treatment Plant.

Monthly sludge production varies from 200-500 tons, averaging 330 tons. Production will double after the 2024-2026 airport expansion.

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TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS / PERFORMANCE CRITERIA:

Technical Requirements:

• Solutions providers should have previous experience with developing similar solutions.
• Solutions providers should have the ability to deliver and install working proto-type solution(s) comprising addressing any of the above innovations.
• Provision of reports demonstrating of efficiency/efficacy of solution(s) throughout the trial period.
• Provide recommendations on future solution designs incorporating lessons learned during trial.
• Provision of detailed design and proposal for scaled-up solution(s).

 

Performance Criteria:

Performance criteria will be assessed on a case-by-case basis depending on the specific proposal.

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COST TARGET

Cost targets will be determined on a case-by-case basis.

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TIMEFRAME FOR DEVELOPMENT

Phase 1 PoC development: 2-4 months.

Phase 2 Roll-out: to be determined on a case-by-case basis.

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POTENTIAL MARKET / BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY

If the solution is successful, we are willing to support a further roll-out within different wastewater treatment plants. We are aware that similar issues exist in some other plants in the region, further highlighting additional expansion opportunities.

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RESOURCES

1. Up to S$130,000 funding from QRDI Council to support solution development and piloting
   
2. Up to S$20,000 grant support from EnterpriseSG
3. Laboratory test analysis reports for two years can be made available to solution providers as long as confidentiality agreements are signed. The report(s) gives a representation of the typical nature of the sludge produced.
4. Specific support by the end-user including (but not limited to):
   • Access to the end-user to enable domain knowledge
   • Access to relevant datasets
   • Access to co-working space and lab facilities

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OTHER CONSIDERATIONS

For novel IP is being generated as part of the collaboration, QRDI Council will follow its IP policy in line with its open innovation directive and practices. please refer to the following link QRDI Intellectual Property Policy.pdf (windows.net)

BACKGROUND OF THE PROBLEM

This challenge statement is jointly supported by the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change as well as its potential end-user Qatar Industrial Manufacturing Company (QIMC)(Q.S.C). The Ministry will utilize and supply the solution to end-user(s), and provide some of the funding for the initial POC/Pilot with the end goal for the solution to be adopted by the end-user post POC.

The innovator/developer of the “calculator” will integrate various international codes and standards of the aluminium industry in the measurement systems, against which Qatari production of aluminium shall be calibrated. The scope of this project involves creating a user-friendly software tool that enables aluminium industry professionals in Qatar to input production data and calculate the carbon footprint of aluminium throughout its lifecycle.

The calculator will utilise accurate algorithms aligned with international standards and local regulations, considering factors like energy sources and regional specifics. It will offer a streamlined user interface, generate detailed carbon footprint reports, and provide user support. Data security and privacy measures will be implemented. The calculator's scope excludes external data collection, regulatory compliance validation, policy recommendations, and ongoing software maintenance.

Ideally, the tool would include measuring and calculating emissions for scopes 1, 2 and 3 since regulations will require such measurements by 2026. The tool should be built in accordance with the regulations of the European Commission’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) which will start in 2026. There will be a revision by the European Parliament in three years for the current CBAM to include Scope 3 emissions. The following offers a comprehensive guide on CBAM’s: https://taxation-customs.ec.europa.eu/carbon-border-adjustment-mechanism_en#guidance-documents

In-Scope:

• Data Collection and Input: relevant data from various stages of aluminium production, such as raw material extraction, energy consumption, transportation, etc.
• Calculation Algorithms: based on relevant standards and guidelines to accurately calculate carbon emissions at different stages of the aluminium production lifecycle.
• User Interface (UI) Development: a user-friendly interface that guides users through the data input process, parameter selection, and generating carbon footprint reports.
• Carbon Footprint Reporting: detailed reports that provide a breakdown of carbon emissions by process, source, and overall carbon footprint. The reports should be informative and easy to understand.
• Compliance with Standards: the software aligns with applicable international standards and guidelines for carbon accounting in the aluminium industry.
• Accuracy and Verification: mechanisms for accuracy and verification to ensure that the calculations and results are reliable. This might involve providing information about data sources, assumptions, and methods used.
• Customization for Qatar: Adapting the calculator to the specific context of Qatar's aluminium industry, considering factors like energy sources, local processes, and regulatory requirements.
• User Support and Training: resources and support to help users effectively use the calculator, interpret results, and address any questions or issues.
• Security and Data Privacy: appropriate security measures to protect user data and ensure data privacy.

Out of scope:

• External Auditing: External audits for verification purposes will be out of scope. The calculator could be designed for internal use and potentially verified by external parties separately.
• Policy Recommendations: or strategic decisions based on the calculator's results might be beyond the scope. The calculator provides data; users interpret and act upon it.
• Software Maintenance and Updates: initial development is within scope, but ongoing software maintenance, updates, and enhancements might be considered separately, unless defined and stipulated to be within scope of selected developer(s).

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TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS / PERFORMANCE CRITERIA:

Technical requirements:

 

Relevant regulatory standards:  

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COST TARGET

Cost targets will be determined on a case-by-case basis.

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TIMEFRAME FOR DEVELOPMENT

Phase 1 POC development: 2-4 months

Phase 2 Roll-out: to be determined on a case-by-case basis

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POTENTIAL MARKET / BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY

In case the solution provider is able to develop a solution that fits our requirements, we believe there are additional opportunities for implementation for adjacent products such as steel. Additionally, solution providers can scale through increasing the number of licenses of their solutions across multiple different customers in the region.

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RESOURCES

1. Up to S$130,000 funding from QRDI to support solution development and piloting
   
2. Up to S$20,000 grant support from EnterpriseSG
3. Specific support by the end-user including (but not limited to):
• Access to the end-user to enable domain knowledge
• Access to relevant datasets
• Access to co-working space and lab facilities

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OTHER CONSIDERATIONS

For novel IP is being generated as part of the collaboration, QRDI will follow its IP policy in line with its open innovation directive and practices. please refer to the following link QRDI Intellectual Property Policy.pdf (windows.net)

BACKGROUND OF THE PROBLEM

The Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) is a comprehensive study conducted to determine the potential environmental and social effects resulting from a prospective new project. It ensures that the potential impacts (both positive and negative) on the environment and communities are assessed and considered in line with environmental and social laws and standards. Currently, the review and evaluation process for ESIA studies for new projects is lengthy, leading to prolonged wait times for the issuance of essential environmental permits. This delay stems from the vast amounts of data, information, and studies required for comprehensive assessments.

The end goal for the solution is to be adopted by the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change as the end-user post POC. The developed solution can be used for forecasting new developmental cases as well as future environmental situations based on current data.

In-Scope:

• Improve the decision-making process to proceed with new project developments.
  
• Provide a more precise project assessment of environmental system analysis.
  
• Make predictions for different cases as well as future studies.
  
• Save time and manpower required.
  
• Expedite the EIA review and environmental permit issuance process.
  

Out of scope:

• Post-Issue Monitoring: The EIA is primarily designed for assessment prior to project execution. Continuous monitoring after environmental permits have been issued is not within the EIA's scope.
  
• External Data Integration: While the EIA will use specific datasets provided, automatic integration with external databases or real-time data sources arenot included, at least at this initial stage of development.
  
• Legal & Regulatory Recommendations: The EIA will assess against existing standards and laws but will not provide recommendations for legal actions or suggest changes to existing regulations.
  
• Financial & Economic Analysis: The focus is on environmental and social impacts. Economic implications or cost-benefit analyses of projects are not addressed by the EIA.
  
• Project Management Capabilities: The EIA will not offer project management features such as re/scheduling, re/budgeting, or resource re/allocation.
  
• Historical Analysis: The EIA will not provide detailed analyses or reviews of past projects or retrospective EIA studies.
  
• Training and Certification: While the EIA will offer guidance and assessment capabilities, it will not serve as a platform for official EIA certification or training.
  

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TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS / PERFORMANCE CRITERIA:

Technical requirements:

The project may be conducted in distinct development phases. The first priority is to develop the emissions model. Further models can subsequently be added.  

Relevant regulatory standards:  

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COST TARGET

Cost targets will be determined on a case-by-case basis.

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TIMEFRAME FOR DEVELOPMENT

Phase 1 POC development: 2-4 months

Phase 2 Roll-out: to be determined on a case-by-case basis

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POTENTIAL MARKET / BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY

We believe the EIA decision tool once developed can be rolled out to other departments within the Ministry as well as universities and consulting firms. Additionally, we are willing to support further rollout for other countries.

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RESOURCES

1. Up to S$130,000 funding from QRDI to support solution development and piloting
2. Up to S$20,000 grant support from EnterpriseSG
3. Specific support by the end-user including (but not limited to):
• Access to the end-user to enable domain knowledge
• Access to relevant datasets
• Access to co-working space and lab facilities

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OTHER CONSIDERATIONS

For novel IP is being generated as part of the collaboration, QRDI will follow its IP policy in line with its open innovation directive and practices. please refer to the following link QRDI Intellectual Property Policy.pdf (windows.net)