Spill The T: Accelerating Science’s Path to Profit
Spill The T: Accelerating Science’s Path to Profit
In this series, we take you behind the scenes of what it’s like to be part of Team Temasek. Hear why we love doing what we do from interns who have learnt the ropes, mid-career joiners who have made the switch from other industries, and those who have risen within our ranks.
For the past ten weeks, Daniel Tay has spent his Monday afternoons mentoring a group of young climate tech innovators.
Their groundbreaking work has the potential to dramatically reduce the production costs of green hydrogen, a critical advancement for the clean energy market, says Temasek’s Vice President for Emerging Technologies.
However, many in the HydroTech Solutions team are pure scientists – PhD students or freshly-minted PhDs inexperienced in translating their work into the value it creates for customers and investors, he says. “If you say your solution is ten times cheaper, what’s driving that cost improvement? What’s the differentiator? If you’re using a different raw material, investors will want to know what your supply chain looks like, and its price volatility.”
Daniel’s job is to help bridge the gap between their scientific discovery and the commercial metrics that will resonate with potential backers.
HydroTech Solutions is one of two teams that Daniel mentors under the Singapore Climate Ventures (SGCV) programme, part of a broader initiative between Temasek and Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Ventures. SGCV plays a pivotal role in advancing climate innovation, fostering an ecosystem where deep-tech entrepreneurs can access funding, mentorship, and resources to translate groundbreaking science into scalable solutions.
“I was really proud when they won the Platinum Award at this year’s HKUST-SINO One Million Dollar Entrepreneurship Competition,” says Daniel. “They have good technology to start with, and the drive to turn that into a successful venture. What they needed was guidance in identifying and highlighting the key information that investors look for.” The team has already attracted interest from manufacturers in Singapore, China and the UK, and has two patents pending.
His role at the intersection of science and business is one that Daniel – himself a trained scientist – derives much satisfaction from. “Temasek fosters a great environment for people with different backgrounds to thrive,” he says. “There are mechanisms for us to show our value in different ways.”
The pathway from research to revenue
Daniel’s path to Temasek was not linear.
He was completing his PhD in organic chemistry when he realised that his interests had shifted. While he was still driven by scientific inquiry, he found himself increasingly fascinated by the commercial side of research.
“When I worked on research projects, I was thinking more about downstream applications,” he explains. “I wasn’t focused on my next research paper or where I would apply for my next grant. Instead, I was asking, What are the use cases? Who am I competing with to get to market? Would the industry value this technology? It all came naturally to me.”
This mindset saw the A*STAR scholar seek roles outside the lab after completing his PhD. He took on positions in industry and business development before deciding to pursue an MBA, and eventually took on a two-year secondment at Temasek. In 2023, he joined the company formally as Vice President of the Emerging Technologies team, focusing on climate tech and energy investments.
Looking back, Daniel acknowledges the steep learning curve. “Temasek was a blend of people with different expertise – some who had worked at investment banks, others who were deep into tech. We came together as a team, each bringing our unique strengths.”
He took the opportunity to build his financial knowledge, drawing on specialised in-house courses, including financial modelling. He also participated in discussion panels on emerging technology and delivered talks on the future of technology, contributing to Temasek’s broader initiative to encourage knowledge sharing and continuous learning.
“There’s a lot of flexibility in terms of professional learning – it really depends on the individual and whether you want to take advantage of these resources,” he says.
One of the key advantages at Temasek, Daniel says, is the number of doors it opens, and the “breadth of knowledge” that comes through them – something he discovered soon after joining the company.
“I was tasked with working on next-generation batteries, but I wasn’t a battery scientist,” he recalls. “But building on my training in material science, within six to nine months, I had picked up the language, the trends, and developed my own opinion on where the industry was headed.”
In his time at Temasek, Daniel has connected with more than 100 startups globally, gathering insights from each conversation. He has learnt to recognise patterns, and use them to identify startups that are likely to break out first and might be quick wins, and which have better technology, but will likely take longer to yield returns.
“Early-stage investing requires a thoughtful approach, balancing near-term opportunities with long-term potential,” he explains. “We aim to support companies that can scale quickly and create meaningful impact, while also investing in innovative technologies that have the power to reshape industries and drive sustainable growth.”
Daniel Tay, Vice President, Emerging Technologies
"Temasek fosters a great environment for people with different backgrounds to thrive. There are mechanisms for us to show our value in different ways."
Daniel and this mentees from HydroTech Solutions.
From breakthroughs to breakout businesses
Today, Temasek’s blend of scientific insight and financial expertise continues to bring a unique advantage to its investment approach. “As scientists, we understand the first principles of how a piece of technology works,” says Daniel. “We identify the key drivers and assess the risks of its development pathways, asking the right questions, drilling deeper into challenges, then translating it into usable information to guide our investment decisions.”
It provides an additional lens, allowing the team to “look a little wider and a little deeper,” he says. “We understand the risks and the potential better, and that allows us to make more informed decisions.”
His mentoring role, while a smaller part of Daniel’s week, complements his broader mission at Temasek, to harness innovation for large-scale environmental impact, and aligns closely with his personal vision. “From a global perspective, a lot more needs to be done – not just within Singapore, but globally.”
Temasek’s network, he adds, provides the reach necessary to make an impact.
“With its reach, Temasek can identify startups with unique solutions, bringing us closer to the global goal of a sustainable future,” he says. For him, this mission is not only professionally rewarding but personally meaningful. “Helping the world move towards a more resilient tomorrow – that’s truly impactful.”
About Breakthrough Energy Fellows – Southeast Asia (BE Fellows – SEA)
BE Fellows – SEA is a partnership established in 2024 by Breakthrough Energy, Temasek, and Enterprise Singapore aimed at accelerating the development and deployment of early-stage climate-tech innovations across Southeast Asia. The programme provides researchers, scientists, and innovators with funding, mentorship, and access to a global network of industry partners, addressing critical talent and innovation gaps in the region’s deep-tech climate ecosystem.
By fostering a pipeline of talent and innovation, BE Fellows – SEA advances the development of impactful solutions that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and support Southeast Asia’s progress towards achieving its net zero goals. Temasek brings its thought leadership, expertise, and extensive networks as a global investor anchored in Asia to this partnership, reflecting its commitment to sustainability, So Every Generation Prospers.
