Energy Practical Camp Opens in Singapore: Focusing on Energy Saving and Practical Application
The first "Energy Practical Camp," hosted by the Asia Pacific Energy Association (APEA) and supported by the Energy Market Authority of Singapore, officially commenced at the Marina Bay Sands Convention Center in Singapore on July 27, 2026. With the theme "Empowerment through Practice: Cost Reduction and Efficiency Improvement," the camp attracted over 300 energy managers, technical experts, and corporate decision-makers from 15 countries in the Asia Pacific region. The event will run until July 31, covering expert lectures, case study reviews, site visits, and simulation sandboxes, aiming to help enterprises enhance energy efficiency and lower operating costs through practical training.
Background: Global Energy Transition Accelerates, Energy Saving Becomes a Necessity for Enterprises
As global carbon neutrality goals advance and corporate energy costs continuously rise, energy management has transformed from a mere bonus to an essential requirement for business survival and development. The International Energy Agency (IEA) noted in its 2026 World Energy Outlook that 40% of the energy-saving potential in the industrial and building sectors remains untapped. However, traditional training often remains theoretical, lacking implementable practical methods. Against this backdrop, APEA, in collaboration with several leading industry enterprises, launched the "Energy Practical Camp" after two years of preparation, aiming to help practitioners master the entire chain of skills—from diagnosis and planning to implementation—through real cases and simulated scenarios.
Li Mingde, Secretary-General of APEA, stated in the opening speech: "The positioning of the Energy Practical Camp is not a certificate factory, but an 'operating table' for solving real problems. We chose Singapore as the first stop because, as an Asian energy hub, it has accumulated rich experience in energy management regulations, technological application, and market operations, providing reusable methodologies for participants from various countries."
Practical Camp Highlights: Six Modules Covering the Entire Energy Management Process
The curriculum of this Practical Camp was jointly designed by industry experts and university scholars and is divided into six core modules:
- Energy Audit and Diagnosis: Learning to use advanced monitoring equipment and data analysis software to quickly identify energy efficiency gaps in factories and buildings.
- Energy Saving Technology Selection: Comparing the applicability and return on investment of mainstream technologies such as heat pumps, variable frequency drives, waste heat recovery, and smart lighting.
- Project Design and Implementation: Simulating the entire process from project initiation and procurement to construction acceptance through sandbox exercises, thereby avoiding common risks.
- Energy Management System Establishment: Building a continuous improvement energy management mechanism benchmarked against ISO 50001 standards.
- Digital Energy Platform: Hands-on operation of cloud-based energy management platforms utilizing IoT and AI for real-time monitoring and optimization.
- Cross-Industry Case Review: Sharing real renovation cases by benchmark enterprises from sectors such as semiconductor, chemical, data centers, and commercial buildings.
The "Cross-Industry Case Review" module was the most popular segment among participants. Energy managers from companies such as TSMC, BASF, and Wanhua Chemical presented in-depth analyses of their factory energy-saving projects—covering goal setting, solution comparison, implementation results, and even sharing lessons learned from failures. For instance, TSMC shared how its wafer fabrication plant achieved 15% annual energy savings by optimizing cleanroom air conditioning systems without affecting production yield; BASF demonstrated how its chemical park used a digital platform to balance steam network pressure, reducing fugitive losses.
Live Insight: Real Confrontations in the Simulation Exercise
During the "Simulated Energy Retrofit" sand table session on the afternoon of July 27th, participants were divided into 6 teams, each assigned a virtual "aging factory" case (including equipment lists, power consumption data, and architectural drawings). The task was to develop an energy-saving retrofit plan with a payback period not exceeding three years within three hours. Team members debated fiercely on issues such as "should we retrofit lighting first or upgrade boilers first" and "should we introduce PV energy storage." Ultimately, Team 4 from Vietnam won the Best Plan Award with a "low cost + quick results" strategy (such as installing inverters, insulating pipelines, and establishing sub-metering). Nguyen Van Ho, the team leader, stated, "This practical exercise is a hundred times more valuable than listening to a lecture. We must not only understand the technology but also calculate the economics and consider production schedules; that is true energy management."
Industry Interpretation: Three Major Trends in Future Energy Management
Based on the discussions from this practical camp and the views of industry experts, three major trends in energy management over the next few years can be distilled:
Technological Integration: Single technologies are insufficient to meet comprehensive cost reduction needs; future enterprises will favor integrating multiple solutions (such as integrated PV storage charging, heat pumps + waste heat recovery + smart control) to maximize energy efficiency.
Data-Driven Approach: Energy management platforms will evolve from "monitoring" to "prediction and optimization"; AI algorithms will automatically adjust equipment operating parameters based on weather, electricity prices, and production schedules to achieve dynamic energy savings.
Organizational Normalization: Energy saving is no longer dependent solely on one-time projects but requires establishing a normalized energy management system, including dedicated energy teams, regular audits, and company-wide training.
Furthermore, the Asia Pacific Energy Association announced that following this practical camp, it will continuously offer online refresher courses and community exchanges, and it plans to host an "Energy Practical Camp and Industry Tour" in Bangkok in October 2026 for on-site diagnosis in Thai industrial parks. This initiative will bridge the industry gap between "much theory and little practice," promoting the transition of energy management from "knowing" to "doing."
Conclusion: Driving Transformation Through Practice
Under the dual pressures of "dual carbon" goals and high energy costs, corporate energy management has entered a critical phase. The birth of the Energy Practical Camp provides a timely "learn-and-apply" solution. As one participant said, "Before, I just memorized a few terms from online classes; now that I've participated in the practical camp, I can write a retrofit plan for my factory." In the future, such practical training may become standard for upgrading corporate energy management talent, injecting more frontline action into global energy transition.
For more information on the Energy Practical Camp activities and course materials, please follow the Lao PDR Asia Pacific Finance Energy Practical Camp column.
