Most Innovative Solution - Eco Road
 

Eco Road - an idea to convert the heat energy from roads into electricity - was one of the finalist of the inaugural Youth Action Challenge under the Environment track. During the final competition on 19th of July, 2020, Eco Road was selected as the Most Innovative Solution among the 12 teams.

Singapore being a significatively small, low-lying island nation is particularly vulnerable to climate change, due to the lack of space. This also contributes to the issues of low harnessing of solar, hydro and wind energy. While there is a great push to adopt clean and green energy, there’s an increasing need for solutions that are suitable for the Singaporean landscape. To tackle these challenges, Eco Road has proposed an innovative solution, a product where the heat trapped in roads can be used to generate electricity. Given the long term aspects of this idea to come to fruition, the team has also built alternatives like EcoTile and EcoFloat which can be built faster and also installed far quicker than Eco Roads.

“We believe that EcoRoad can be easily implemented in many countries in the APAC region, especially as we’re aiming to create a scalable and low-cost product”- Eco Road Team

Eco Road is led by 3 Aerospace Electronics Undergraduate students from Ngee Ann Polytechnic - Asyraf, Nicholas and Yi Rong.

The Youth Co: Lab Singapore team had the chance to e-interview the members of Eco Road to better understand their idea, the genesis and their future plans. Sharing here an excerpt of the interview:

1. What is the big problem you are trying to solve with your idea?

Our goal is to help address the negative impacts of global warming by increasing the number of green energy devices available for everyone to use. This is even more important in our country because some green energy-saving devices are not suitable for Singapore. To help solve these big problems, through Eco Road we hope to reduce the urban heat island effect and convert the heat trapped in roads to electricity.

2. How did the Circuit Breaker impact the progress of your project?

Firstly, the Circuit Breaker prevented us from meeting up to tackle the problems together. Therefore, only one of our teammates could actively work on prototyping. Another main issue we faced was the procurement of necessary materials and electric components, as having to order online, turned out to be more expensive. However, due to these issues stalling the finalization of our Eco Road prototype, we were able to come up with Eco Tile and Eco Float - devices that can be installed on rooftops and used in water bodies, which we believe are better for implementation and scaling purposes.

3. What are your views on bringing your idea to other countries within the APAC region?

We believe that our idea can be easily implemented in many countries in the APAC region. In fact, we think our project would work extremely well in countries such as India as it is known as one of the hottest places in APAC.

 

 

4. Lastly, have you thought about any of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that your idea helps address?

Our project idea tackles the following SDGs:

7.   Affordable and Clean Energy;

11. Sustainable Cities and Communities;

13. Climate Action.

It is indeed one of the most innovative ideas to come from the Youth Action Challenge inaugural year and we are thrilled that the judging panel chose Eco Roads for the most Innovative Idea Award. We are so thrilled to see new technology ideas emerge from the youth in Singapore and we are looking forward to supporting this idea and bringing it to life.

Most Innovative Solution - Eco Road

About the Youth Action Challenge

The Youth Action Challenge is part of the SG Action Plan and it provides the youth with a platform to showcase their ideas to tackle these challenges along with having their say in the policymaking process. Organised by the National Youth Council in partnership with The Youth Co:Lab in Singapore, a joint initiative of Citi Foundation and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The Challenge brings youth-led ideas and initiatives to center-stage, providing them with the support, mentorship and financial assistance along the way. 

Read more on Youth Action Challenge Winners Series in our latest updates  section!

If you want to also take action and be a part of the Youth Action Challenge Season 2, you can register your interest HERE.