Overview
The Liveability Challenge (TLC) 2026 is now open for submissions!
TLC is an annual global initiative that seeks innovative, groundbreaking solutions to address urban challenges in the tropics. It crowd-sources the world for the best sustainability solutions and provides both the funding and ecosystem support required to take these ideas from laboratory to market.
Presented by Temasek Foundation and organised by Eco-Business, TLC was established in 2018 and has since grown to become Asia's largest sustainability solutions platform with a global reach and a reputation for helping companies — whose innovations are disrupting industries to create significant positive impact for society and planet — achieve success.
TLC 2026 launches with a record pledge of S$4 million in catalytic funding and support to accelerate sustainability innovations from lab to market. The challenge is now open for submissions under two themes: Decarbonisation and Cool Earth, and will close on 9 February 2026. Finalists will be showcased at the Grand Finale during Ecosperity Week 2026 in Singapore.
Timeline
Submission Deadline: 9 February 2026
Finalist Selection & E-Coaching: February – April 2026
Pitch Preparation: 28 April 2026
Grand Finale at Ecosperity: 20 May 2026
What are we looking for?
Decarbonisation
Disruptive deep-tech solutions that provide scalable and impactful solutions to reduce carbon emissions across diverse industries, including:
Waste-to-resource: Effective capture and conversion of key waste streams into value-added products or permanent carbon removal and storage
Renewable energy: Cost-effective energy generation from renewable sources, clean energy transition technologies, and long-term energy storage solutions
Energy & resource efficiency: Reducing energy consumption and carbon emissions in the built environment and hard-to-abate industries
By-product valorisation: Repurposing carbon- and potassium-rich by-products into higher-value applications
Sustainable ammonia: Low-emission, cost-efficient and less CAPEX-intensive production pathways
Carbon capture: Lower-cost CO₂ capture and purification beyond conventional amine-based methods
Biofuel feedstocks: Commercially viable use of lignocellulosic biomass to improve yield and cost efficiency
Resource efficiency: Reducing energy and water intensity, improving desalination efficiency, and managing grid challenges from rapid solar PV integration
Cool Earth
Groundbreaking innovations that address challenges posed by climate-induced extreme weather conditions, including:
Heat mitigation: Reducing temperatures and adaptation solutions to help societies, especially vulnerable populations, withstand rising temperatures and frequent heatwaves
Nature-based solutions: Replicable and viable models that deliver impact for planet, people, and profit, including blue carbon and green carbon solutions such as seaweed cultivation, mangrove restoration, peat, bamboo cultivation, and low-methane agriculture
#TheLiveabilityChallenge #LiveableCities #TLC2026
For more information, please visit the link here.
Schedule
Date: 09 Feb 2026, Monday
Time: 12:00 AM - 11:59 PM (GMT +8:00) Kuala Lumpur, Singapore
Location: Online
