Yokogawa's Singapore Arm Joins NUS-Led STDCT 2.0 Testbed for Tropical AI Data Centers

Yokogawa Electric Corporation (TOKYO: 6841) announced on September 29, 2026, that its Singapore subsidiary, Yokogawa Engineering Asia Pte. Ltd., has joined the Sustainable Tropical Data Centre Testbed Phase 2.0 (STDCT 2.0) Consortium, a programme led by the College of Design and Engineering (CDE) at the National University of Singapore (NUS).

Agreement Signed to Extend Automation Expertise into Digital Infrastructure

The partnership formalized with an agreement signing ceremony attended by Mr. Joshua Kyaw Zwa and Mr. Kin Wah Chay of Yokogawa Engineering Asia, together with Prof. Lee Poh Seng and Mr. Ian Loo of NUS.

By entering the consortium, Yokogawa intends to draw on its industrial automation background and its leadership in autonomous operations to improve operational efficiency, asset reliability, and energy optimization in next-generation data center environments.

The company also plans to strengthen its AI-powered technological capabilities and R&D expertise to build comprehensive solutions supporting Singapore's move toward a sustainable digital economy while improving the efficient and stable operation of AI data centers globally.

Tropical Conditions Raise the Stakes for Cooling and Energy Efficiency

The context for the collaboration is a data center market expanding rapidly worldwide on the back of generative AI and cloud service adoption, even as operators confront rising energy consumption, resilience pressures, and workforce constraints.

In tropical locations such as Singapore, hot and humid weather places additional strain on cooling systems and energy efficiency, sharpening the need for sustainable innovation.

Singapore has designated the data center industry as one of its strategic growth sectors and is moving ahead with plans, led by the industrial infrastructure agency JTC Corporation, to develop Jurong Island as a hub for next-generation data centers with a projected capacity of up to 700 megawatts.

A Live Testbed for AI-Era Data Center Operations

STDCT 2.0 assembles partners from academia, industry, and government to develop and evaluate advanced energy management and cooling technologies and to establish a sustainable operating model suited to AI data centers in tropical climates.

According to the company, the Sustainable Tropical Data Centre Testbed is a joint research initiative led by the National University of Singapore and hosted by its College of Design and Engineering, in collaboration with leading industry partners.

The programme is focused on energy-efficient data centre designs capable of reliable operation in tropical climates and functions as a live testbed to evaluate, validate, and deploy sustainable innovations that cut energy and water consumption while supporting dense, AI-driven operations.

Yokogawa's role goes beyond deploying and validating technology. The company will work with consortium partners to explore a joint research agenda targeting emerging challenges where existing commercial solutions fall short of data center operators' needs.

NUS Professor Calls for Whole-System Optimization

Professor Lee Poh Seng, Director of STDCT and Head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at NUS's College of Design and Engineering, said AI is fundamentally changing how data centers are designed and operated.

As rack densities rise and infrastructure grows more complex, he argued that improving individual components will no longer be enough; instead, the data center must be optimized as an integrated system spanning computing, power, cooling, controls, and operations.

Describing STDCT 2.0 as a real-world platform for bringing these domains together and validating solutions under demanding tropical conditions, Professor Lee said Yokogawa's deep expertise in measurement, industrial automation, and autonomous operations adds an important capability to the effort.

Through the partnership, he added, the consortium hopes to develop and demonstrate new approaches that make AI data centers more energy- and resource-efficient while also being more intelligent, resilient, and scalable for deployment in Singapore and other tropical markets.

Yokogawa Sees the Consortium as an Extension of Its Autonomy Vision

Kin Wah Chay, President and CEO of Yokogawa Engineering Asia, said the initiative reflects the company's vision of enabling industrial autonomy and carrying its expertise into the rapidly evolving digital infrastructure sector.

We are honored to join the STDCT 2.0 Consortium and work alongside leading partners to accelerate and co-innovate solutions for next-generation AI data centers," Chay said. "Leveraging decades of experience in industrial automation and energy management, we aim to help drive smarter, more efficient, and sustainable data center operations in tropical regions."

About Yokogawa

Yokogawa supplies advanced solutions in measurement, control, and information to customers across industries including energy, chemicals, materials, pharmaceuticals, and food.

The company applies digital technologies to customer challenges around the optimization of production, assets, and the supply chain, supporting the transition to autonomous operations.

Founded in Tokyo in 1915, Yokogawa works toward a sustainable society with a workforce of more than 18,000 employees across a global network of 136 companies in 63 countries.