C A S E S T U D Y

Professor Lee Poh Seng, Head, Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Design and Engineering, National University of Singapore

As Southeast Asia’ s digital infrastructure market matures, operators must prepare for Quantum Computing while tackling the persistent challenges of a tropical climate. Professor Lee Poh Seng, Head, Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Design and Engineering, National University of Singapore, explains how the university’ s collaboration with BW Digital aims to bridge academic research and real-world infrastructure, turning quantum-readiness into practical engineering requirements for facilities in the tropics.

Headquartered in Singapore and part of BW Group, BW Digital develops, builds and operates digital infrastructure in high-potential markets. The company’ s vision is to create a sustainable digital ecosystem for cloud and AI workloads by combining data centres, connectivity and renewable energy assets.

Announced in June at DCD > Connect | APAC 2026, the move deepens BW Digital’ s engagement with Singapore’ s AI and quantum research ecosystem and supports its investments in future-ready digital infrastructure. The research will run over a period of 18 months.

BW Digital’ s initiative also aligns with Singapore’ s vision to advance its

Its infrastructure portfolio notably includes the 15,000km Hawaiki submarine cable connecting Australia, New Zealand and the US since 2018, and the BW Digital Campus at Nongsa Digital Park, comprising the 144MW NDP1 data centre, the NCC submarine cable between Singapore and Batam and the Citra Connect terrestrial fibre network.

leadership in AI, high-performance computing( HPC) and quantum technologies, while further strengthening its position as a leading regional data centre hub.

The partnership will focus on defining the‘ minimum viable infrastructure envelope’ required to support future quantum-classical computing integration within modern data centres. Areas of research include structural design, thermal, cryogenic and power systems, environmental stability and quantum-safe integration, connectivity and operations.

A key area of study will be how tropical operating environments, such as Singapore and Batam, present unique infrastructure challenges for quantum systems, particularly in relation to humidity management, heat rejection, vibration control and electromagnetic stability.

Quantum computers are far more delicate than the servers found in a typical data centre. Many need to be kept extremely cold to work and even minor disturbances such as vibration or changes in temperature can cause them to make errors. Hot, humid climates like Singapore’ s make this more challenging, as facilities must work harder to stay cool and protect against moisture impacting sensitive equipment. Planning for these conditions now, rather than adapting buildings later, should make future facilities easier and more costeffective to run.

Researchers and engineers from BW Digital and the Department of Mechanical Engineering in NUS CDE will evaluate deployment typologies, readiness scorecards and infrastructure zoning strategies to support future hybrid AI-quantum workloads across Southeast Asia. The collaboration will also establish an operator playbook to guide BW Digital’ s future site selection, vendor engagement and infrastructure planning activities.

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