Singapore dominates mapping of Southeast Asia’s green tech

Padang & Co has mapped 1,089 early-stage and growth companies across Southeast Asia's green economy in a new regional landscape study that underlines Singapore's outsized role in climate-related innovation.

The Southeast Asia Green Economy Landscape 2025 report covers startups, scale-ups and SMEs in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines. It focuses on seven sectors that the company says will shape the region's low-carbon transition.

The sectors are Nature, Agriculture & Food; Energy Transition; Transportation & Logistics; Industrial Decarbonisation; Circular Economy & Waste; Built Environment; and Climate Markets & Enablers. The report tracks how each area is developing in the six markets.

Padang & Co says the region now has many of the technologies needed for emissions reduction and climate adaptation. It says the main constraints are the pace and scale of deployment.

The research points to fragmentation, slow adoption and system bottlenecks across markets. It states that these issues limit progress despite rising numbers of climate-focused ventures.

Regional potential

The study appears alongside earlier work by Bain & Company, GenZero, Google, Standard Chartered and Temasek. That separate report projected that a full green transition in Southeast Asia could unlock up to USD $120 billion in economic value and create about 900,000 jobs by 2030, subject to continued investment.

Padang & Co positions its new mapping as a practical guide for market participants. The company says the landscape highlights where innovators can contribute now, where they can lead, and where collaboration is most needed.

It calls on corporates, governments, investors and ecosystem partners to use the findings when they back companies, address deployment barriers and shift from pilots toward projects with measurable impact.

Adam A. Lyle, Executive Chairman of Padang & Co, said the region faces a structural challenge.

"Southeast Asia's green economy cannot advance through innovation alone; we must build the systems, partnerships, and regulatory environments that allow solutions to scale. This report highlights where cross-sector collaboration can create the biggest gains, and how emerging companies, from startups to scale-ups, are essential to transforming ideas into deployment at speed," said Lyle.

Singapore concentration

The report identifies 494 green economy startups and SMEs in Singapore. That figure represents 45% of all the companies mapped across the six markets.

Singapore also hosts a majority of startups in two of the seven sectors. The city-state accounts for 55% of the Built Environment segment and 53% of the Climate Markets & Enablers group.

Padang & Co says Singapore leads the region in the integration of green technologies within advanced manufacturing, industrial decarbonisation, carbon markets and digital innovation. It describes these activities as a reference point for climate solutions that can scale across Southeast Asia.

The report outlines five main innovation themes in Singapore. These are distributed energy resources, virtual power plants and demand response; decarbonisation of Jurong Island's industrial and petrochemical activities; grid-interactive, low-carbon and high-density data centres; clean energy imports, regional grid interconnection and virtual power purchase agreement enablement; and decarbonisation in maritime and aviation including biofuel feedstock innovation.

The study notes several structural constraints in Singapore. These include limited land for renewable energy, higher cooling loads from data centres and a high concentration of industrial emissions on Jurong Island. The authors say these pressures are driving demand for orchestration tools, low-carbon imports and resource-efficient technologies.

Diverse country paths

The report highlights distinct trends across other Southeast Asian markets. It says Malaysia is strengthening its renewable energy and circular economy agenda, which creates openings for SMEs in grid flexibility, low-carbon industrial processes, downstream recycling and waste-to-value innovation.

It notes that the planned Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone is shaping new prospects in green economy and cleantech investment. It cites low-carbon industrial clusters, green investment corridors and integrated supply chain development as focal areas.

Indonesia appears as a central country for regional climate action because of its biodiversity and land-use profile. The report describes rising investment in regenerative agriculture, peatland restoration and decentralised energy. It states that infrastructure and financing gaps remain, which in turn create space for digital and market-based solutions.

Thailand is described as advancing work on sustainable mobility and circular economy. The report points to opportunities in electric vehicle fleet electrification, smart logistics optimisation and advanced recycling technologies.

It notes that rice remains a critical crop in Vietnam. It says there is active investment in rice methane reduction as part of broader agricultural and climate reforms. The report also identifies momentum in renewable energy adoption, manufacturing decarbonisation and emissions measurement in Vietnam, which it says is increasing demand for industrial optimisation and low-carbon materials.

The Philippines appears in the study as a climate-vulnerable market with growing need for adaptation solutions. The report cites demand for resilient infrastructure, early-warning systems and climate-risk analytics. It also points to strong interest in distributed renewable energy, with a rising number of solar PV startups and community clean energy projects.

Collaboration focus

Padang & Co says it based the report on analysis of startup and SME activity, regional policy, funding trends and existing institutional research.

Derrick Chiang, CEO of Padang & Co, said cross-sector work is becoming more important as the region manages climate and economic pressures. "Our mission has always been to bring people and organisations together to drive innovation with purpose. The report shows that the strongest opportunities emerge when corporations, governments, and entrepreneurs work side by side. We hope this report serves as a practical guide for building collaborations that deliver measurable impact and long-term economic resilience for Southeast Asia," said Chiang.

The company states that Southeast Asia faces rising climate risk, rapid urbanisation and increasing energy demand. It says the Green Economy Landscape 2025 will inform efforts that convene partners, support climate-tech firms and shape the region's shift toward a low-carbon green economy.