Singapore Integrated Urban Food Infrastructure Initiative

Concept Brief – Feasibility and Validation Program Opportunity Land-constrained cities face a growing challenge: how to strengthen food resilience without increasing dependence on land, water, and increasingly complex external supply chains. Controlled-environment vertical farming offers one pathway, but its potential should be considered as more than an agricultural technology. CEWT proposes evaluating an integrated urban food infrastructure platform in which dependable energy, controlled agriculture, cooling, water recovery and controlled carbon dioxide utilisation are designed as one interconnected system. Integrated concept Dependable Energy → Controlled Agriculture → Local Food Advanced Cooling + Water Recovery + Controlled CO₂ Utilisation + Heat Recovery Multi-level cultivation can substantially increase productive growing area within a limited physical footprint. Environmental control enables year-round production, while hydroponic water recirculation and recovery of moisture removed during dehumidification create opportunities to reduce net water requirements. Controlled quantities of suitably conditioned CO₂ may also be supplied to the growing environment as a productive biological input. Rather than designing each requirement independently, the objective is to optimise the complete energy–water–carbon–food system. Proposed feasibility and validation program CEWT proposes an initial Singapore-based feasibility and validation program bringing together appropriate scientific, engineering, infrastructure and commercial expertise. • suitable crops and realistic production yields; • multi-level cultivation configuration and land productivity; • lighting and electrical-energy requirements; • cooling, humidity control and environmental management; • plant transpiration and condensate-water recovery; • hydroponic water and nutrient recirculation; • controlled CO₂ enrichment requirements; • opportunities for useful heat recovery; • potential integration with existing urban infrastructure; • CAPEX, OPEX and production cost; and • commercial scalability and contribution to urban food resilience. Potential 1 MW demonstration Subject to successful scientific, engineering and commercial validation, the program could progress to a potential 1 MW integrated demonstration facility. Preliminary CEWT engineering screening indicates that a 1 MW-class module could potentially support approximately 9,000 m² of effective multi-level cultivation area and production in the order of 700 tonnes per year of leafy vegetables. These are preliminary engineering screening estimates only and are specifically intended to be tested and refined through the proposed feasibility and validation program. The demonstration would evaluate the complete integrated system rather than simply the agricultural production component. Development pathway Feasibility → Scientific Validation → Engineering & Commercial Assessment → Potential 1 MW Demonstration → Replication The initial objective is therefore not to propose construction of another vertical farm. It is to determine whether integrated design can materially improve the technical and commercial performance of controlled urban agriculture by managing energy, cooling, water and carbon as interconnected resources. Strategic proposition Land and resource constraints can become drivers of infrastructure innovation. A successful demonstration could establish a replicable model for highly urbanised and resource-constrained cities seeking greater resilience from limited physical resources. Energy → Water → Carbon → Food An integrated infrastructure platform for resilient cities. Clean Energy and Water Technologies Pty Ltd (CEWT) | Melbourne, Australia Ahilan Raman | Managing Director | ahilan@cewt.tech