A relentless spirit of innovation drives Singapore’s economy. In laboratories, research and development (R&D) centres, and production floors across the island, new ideas are being incubated and transformed into globally impactful solutions.
Discover how four different companies – across robotics, green tech, food and consumer goods sectors - have tapped Singapore's ecosystem of world-class R&D capabilities and vast networks of public-private partners to make their ideas a reality.
Singapore startup Magorium is giving plastic waste a new lease of life, by turning it into roads.
For centuries, road surfaces have been paved with bitumen, a petroleum-based material that generates large amounts of carbon emissions in its production. Magorium CEO Oh Chu Xian decided that she wanted to create a greener alternative, in contrast to her family’s traditional road construction business. What if roads could be built from our trash instead?
In an effort to reduce waste destined for landfills — and contribute to the global effort to combat climate change — the deep-tech company developed a novel technology to convert unsorted, contaminated plastic waste into a road construction material. Its patented product is called NEWBitumen, which has been estimated to save 300kg of CO2 per production tonne compared to conventional bitumen. Magorium paved its first “eco-road” made of NEWBitumen in a Tuas factory. Since then, more than 10 eco-roads have been paved across Singapore.
Magorium is also collaborating with partners from other industries to foster a circular economy. Together with Sanofi, the company collected used insulin pens made by the French biopharma giant, to recycle into NEWBitumen. The material was then used to build the roads at Sanofi’s latest manufacturing facility in Singapore.
Magorium’s road-building solution not only reduces plastic waste and carbon emissions, but offers a scalable model for sustainable infrastructure. With plans to expand across Southeast Asia, the company is aiming to support countries in managing plastic waste more effectively, while equipping them with the capability to pave greener roads.
You might not give a second thought to the air fresheners found in the cars we ride in, but for a team of researchers at Procter & Gamble’s (P&G) Singapore Innovation Centre (SgIC), reinventing it was a science-driven mission.
Since its establishment in 2014, SgIC has grown into one of the largest private research facilities in Singapore, serving as a key innovation hub for P&G in the Asia-Pacific. It houses close to 500 researchers, over half of whom are Singaporeans.
Among the research facility’s most notable products are its Febreze and Ambi Pur air fresheners. Developed under the codename Project Merlion, a new generation of air fresheners were created from the ground up in Singapore — from initial customer research to designing a unique 3D packaging to facilitate passive diffusion. SgIC’s inventive breakthroughs have helped to propel Febreze and Ambi Pur to the top of the global air care market in North America, Japan and the UK.
Behind the scents is Singaporean scientist Dr. Desmond Ng, Technical R&D Leader for Air Care. Since joining P&G in 2019, he has filed 14 patents related to anti-bacterial scent formulation, membrane technology, and a device that provides true scent intensity control.
"Working at SgIC has taken me beyond what happens at the lab, to understanding what it takes to bring an idea all the way into consumers’ hands. I am especially excited to see the impact that my work has on the lives of millions of consumers around the world."
Dr. Desmond Ng
Technical R&D Leader for Air Care
Singapore Innovation Centre, P&G
P&G’s success illustrates why Singapore continues to be a preferred hub for multi-national corporations to base their R&D: strong talent and regional connectivity, within an ecosystem that supports innovation from idea to shelf.
Kikkoman, best known for its soy sauce, is now making waves in the alternative protein food scene, with its Harumaru plant-based noodle kit developed and test-marketed in Singapore.
According to the company, Harumaru was designed as a quick, plant-based menu infused with Japanese flavours and tailored for local palates. By combining noodles made from chickpeas and wheat with Japanese flavored plant-based sauces, Kikkoman has set out to offer busy consumers plant-based meals that are ready to eat in minutes.
Singapore’s diverse population and robust food R&D infrastructure made it the ideal location to launch Harumaru. Kikkoman’s R&D base was first set up at the National University of Singapore (NUS) in 2005, before later moving to Singapore’s biomedical hub, Biopolis. The company taps into Singapore’s network of public and private innovation partners — including A*STAR and EDB — to expand its food science initiatives and test novel food products.
"The EDB’s strong support has been instrumental to accelerating the innovation process – from R&D to commercialisation. Singapore offers a valuable model for innovation for businesses."
Dr. Asahi Matsuyama
Director and Executive Corporate Officer
Kikkoman Corporation
Harumaru is Kikkoman’s foray into the fast-growing plant-based convenience food space. It is also a testament to Singapore’s pro-business environment, regulatory clarity, and cross-sector partnerships. These strengths enable global brands to pilot and refine new ideas locally, before scaling them regionally.
With the help of advanced robotics, a Singaporean company is reinforcing the country’s global reputation for having clean, well-kept streets and public areas.
LionsBot is a homegrown startup that has developed the R3 Vac and R3 Scrub Pro cleaning robots, to autonomously vacuum and clean floors in public and private spaces. LionsBot has designed advanced sensors, artificial intelligence (AI) driven route optimisation, and intuitive user interfaces for its professional-grade R3 series products. These features boost productivity and reduce the need for manual supervision. The robots learn and adapt quickly to their surroundings, which allows them to navigate complex layouts and perform cleaning tasks with precision and efficiency.
LionsBot’s growth and development is supported by RoboNexus, an accelerator programme launched by the National Robotics Programme (NRP). The company has received funding, mentorship, and commercialisation support to bring its robots to market. RoboNexus connects promising robotics SMEs with expertise across academia, industry, and the public sector—accelerating their journey from prototype to product.
Benefitting from this robust local ecosystem, LionsBot is expanding its reach from Singapore, to over 30 countries. The firm has also earned accolades like the Interclean Amsterdam Innovation Award, European Cleaning and Hygiene Award, and Singapore Good Design Mark.
Together, these four innovations point to something bigger: Singapore’s growing reputation as a launchpad for ideas with global impact.
Innovation does not happen in isolation. It thrives in environments where different sectors and collaborators come together, where talent is nurtured, and where ideas are actively built on. We celebrate “made in Singapore” — not only the products that have emerged as solutions to complex problems, but also the people and partnerships that made them possible.
Read more about Singapore’s innovation ecosystem here.
