Boosting tech in Singapore: More power for data centres, S$300m funding for quantum technology
All public healthcare entities will also start using a cloud-based analytics platform called Healix from June, allowing better collaboration.

FILE PHOTO: A view of an operations nerve center at a Keppel data centre in Singapore July 3, 2023. REUTERS/Edgar Su/File Photo
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SINGAPORE: Greener data centres, a cloud-based platform for all public healthcare institutions, and a nearly S$300 million (US$222 million) boost for Singapore’s quantum technology sector.
These were the new initiatives announced on Thursday (May 30) at the Asia Tech x Singapore conference, organised by the Infocomm Media Development Authority of Singapore (IMDA) and held at the Capella Singapore hotel.
Under the green data centre roadmap, Singapore is looking to add 300 megawatts of power for the sector in the next few years. It is a bid to accelerate energy efficiency and unlock further capacity through green energy.
The authorities have also set aside another 200 megawatts exclusively for those that use green energy, as an incentive for operators to become more sustainable.
The plan involves getting operators to work with their energy providers and clients to cut energy use. While data centres are key to Singapore's digital economy, they are also one of the largest carbon emitters in the infocomm tech sector.
Some operators have already started to reduce their footprint by tailoring cooling solutions.
To get more on board, the government will give grants to data centres to switch to greener hardware, and set higher standards on energy efficiency by next year. It will also encourage players to explore low-carbon energy sources like bio-energy and solar panels.
THE NEED TO GO GREEN
Speaking to CNA’s Singapore Tonight following the announcement, Senior Minister of State for Communications and Information Janil Puthucheary said data centres are central to Singapore’s digital economy.
“The kinds of businesses that we have here in Singapore, the kind of job opportunities we want to create, need digitalisation and need some growth in our digitaliation capacity,” he said.
“So we have to have more data centres if we want more racks, more computers here, in Singapore, to be able to power this.”
However he noted that such data centres use up a lot of water and that they have to become more sustainable and efficient over time.
When asked whether the push to become greener will make Singapore less competitive as a data centre hub, Dr Puthucheary said there is little choice but to head in such a direction, given the nation’s commitments on carbon emissions and energy constraints.
“It may make the operating constraints a bit tighter, but actually, the industry is very, very interested in what we're doing here in Singapore. And the reason is what we're facing, the rest of the world is going to face at some point anyway, because of the issues around energy and carbon,” he added.
“So we're just getting there sooner. We've got to learn about it faster, and we've got to do it better, and get going now.”
Keppel Data Centres CEO Wong Wai Meng said the roadmap provides clarity that Singapore has ambition to stay competitive in the digital, AI and tech arenas.
Providing meaningful demand for the consumption of green energy will, in turn, encourage and catalyse investment for green infrastructure and could ramp up energy transition, said Mr Wong, who is also chair of SGTech, a trade association for Singapore's tech industry.
Dr Puthucheary noted that the roadmap was developed alongside the data centre industry, as well as other industry players like the clients and suppliers that use these data centres.
CLOUD-BASED ANALYTICS
Dr Puthucheary also announced during the summit that all public healthcare entities will start using a cloud-based analytics platform from June.
Called Healix, it combines all public healthcare data in a single system, making it easier to analyse and let various groups collaborate on research and development.
Such a platform could help providers cut manpower and costs needed to maintain individual data analytics systems. It is also expected to drive the development of AI tools that improve patient care.
Healix will store anonymised data to safeguard private information. The move is in line with a framework finalised by IMDA on Thursday to promote the responsible use of AI.
The framework identifies nine key dimensions of AI governance, such as accountability and security.
Singapore will also take such knowledge to an international level, working with Rwanda on a playbook to address challenges that small states face in developing and adopting AI.
IMDA's chief executive Lew Chuen Hong said that the framework provides a structure on how to think about safer and more trusted deployment for AI.
Trust gives people confidence in adopting AI, which in turn provides more opportunities for innovation, he said.
He added: “As a next step, we here are hoping to pioneer specific recommendations and guidelines - for example, how companies can develop their models to be much more trusted, and how can they be transparent as far as what the data goes in, and what the model actually does, so that consumers and enterprises can make a better choice.”
INVESTMENT IN QUANTUM TECHNOLOGY
Singapore will also double down on investments in quantum technology, Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat announced at the summit.
Nearly S$300 million will be pumped into the field to drive research over the next five years. It is the largest single investment ever made, building on over S$400 million spent since 2002.
The funds will go towards four areas, including designing and building quantum processors.
"We still don't know how to construct the best quantum computers. This is a race. This is really a fight on the planet and we are progressing very fast,” said Professor José Ignacio Latorre, director of the National University of Singapore’s Centre for Quantum Technologies.
“Singapore is fantastically positioned in this space because Singapore started to work in quantum technologies 17 years ago,” he added.
Classic computers like those found in mobile phones go between “yes” and “no” billions of times in a single second when processing data. This enables them to handle everything from calculations to Excel spreadsheets.
On the other hand, quantum computers look for “maybes” in their calculations - a difference that allows them to handle problems that classic computers cannot.
Such abilities can be applied to sectors like biotechnology to model diseases and develop cutting edge medicines. In finance, quantum technology can handle calculations that current technology cannot handle.
Besides boosting hardware, Singapore will invest in talent, with researchers coming under a national research and development centre. About 200 PhD and master-level scholarships will also be offered.
Industry players believe the ability to tackle such problems could give Singapore an economic leg up.
"All the countries that are not betting on quantum technologies will simply be behind. (They) will be buyers of technology, not developers of technology,” said Prof Latorre.
“So this investment is key to maintaining Singapore at the top level of countries that developed quantum technologies.”