Your battery just died. Not your phone—your entire business model. This week on Sea of Startups, we're diving into why most climate tech fails within months in Southeast Asia, how tropical conditions are a torture chamber for hardware, and why the smartest founders are turning brutal constraints into billion-dollar competitive advantages. Plus: Why Chinese AV companies are playing a completely different game in Singapore, and fresh Series A data that might make you cry into your pitch deck (but also why this might be the best time to build).

What You'll Learn:

Why 90% of battery technologies fail in tropical conditions and what to do about it

The four frameworks climate tech founders need to survive Southeast Asia's regulatory maze

How software-defined adaptation is beating hardware brute force

Why Singapore's autonomous vehicle strategy looks nothing like Silicon Valley's approach

The brutal truth about Series A fundraising in 2025

Featured Topics:

Tropical Batteries Report 2025 from Malaysia's SEDA and Cicero

Climate tech hardware survival strategies

Energy policy challenges across Southeast Asia markets

Autonomous vehicle partnerships in Singapore (Pony.ai, WeRide)

Series A fundraising reality check with Carta data

Timestamps:

00:00 - Introduction: Heat, Hype, and Hard Truths

01:15 - The Adapter That Couldn't Adapt

05:30 - Tropical Batteries Report 2025: Why Hardware Dies in SEA 09:45 - Three Engineering Strategies (And Why Software Wins)

15:20 - The Policy Problem: When Regulators Block Innovation

22:40 - Four Frameworks for Climate Tech Survival

28:48 - Segment Transition: From Climate Heat to AV Hype

Key Quotes:

"Southeast Asia isn't just a market. It's a torture chamber for hardware."

"If your adapter can't survive Southeast Asia, neither can your startup."

"Don't think of tropical conditions as a constraint. Think of them as a feature."

"The real competitive advantage isn't having the best technology. It's having technology that regulators understand, incumbents can partner with, and customers can actually deploy."

Resources Mentioned:

Tropical Batteries Report 2025 (SEDA Malaysia & Cicero)

Malaysia's Sustainable Energy Development Authority (SEDA)

PTT, EGAT, Petronas, Pertamina energy programs

Shell LiveWire program

Hosts:

Kimberley (Kim) Yeoh - @WeiiSyuenYeoh

Kevin Brockland - @KevinBrockland

SEGMENT 1: TROPICAL CLIMATE TECH - THE TORTURE CHAMBER (00:00 - 28:48)

The Core Problem: Most battery storage technologies were designed for temperate climates (Silicon Valley garages, German engineering labs), not Southeast Asia's brutal conditions:

Daily temperatures: 35°C+ (surface temps hit 60°C on rooftops)

Humidity: 90% for months at a time

Salt spray near coasts

Biblical rain patterns

Thermal cycling causing mechanical stress

Real-World Impact:

Lithium-ion cells that should last 10 years only reach 60% of expected lifespan

Electronic components corrode rapidly

Housing cracks from thermal cycling

Warranty claims sink company valuations

The Report: Tropical Batteries Report 2025 from Malaysia's SEDA (Sustainable Energy Development Authority) and CSIRO provides the first comprehensive playbook for hardware founders building in tropical markets.

https://www.csiro.au/en/research/technology-space/energy/Electricity-transition/Southeast-Asia/tropical-batteries-Malaysia

Malaysia's Context:

Target: 70% renewable energy by 2050

Battery storage is critical for grid stability

But current technologies aren't built for these conditions

Three Engineering Strategies:

Engineer the Environment (Reactive)

Active cooling systems

Heat-dissipating materials

Smarter packaging

Problem: Adds cost and complexity without solving root cause

Different Chemistry (Better, but limited)

Sodium-ion batteries: Better heat tolerance, less energy dense

Iron-air batteries: Incredibly robust, slower charge/discharge

Sand batteries: Trap and hold heat (Vietnam example)

Problem: Still competing on manufacturing scale with Chinese giants

Software-Defined Adaptation (The Winner)

Predictive thermal management

Dynamic load balancing

Weather-aware charge/discharge algorithms

Advantage: Compete on intelligence, not manufacturing scale

Startup-friendly and defensible

The Policy Elephant: Technology is only half the battle. Energy policy often works against startups:

Thailand Example:

Ambitious renewable goals on paper

Reality: Energy sector dominated by massive incumbents

Peer-to-peer energy trading technically feasible but legally gray

Result: "Behind-the-meter" projects only (on-site consumption, can't scale to grid)

The Structural Challenge:

What works in Singapore doesn't work in Indonesia

What's legal in Malaysia might be restricted in Vietnam

Different regulatory approaches across 11 Southeast Asian markets

Different incumbent interests and political sensitivities

Four Survival Frameworks:

Framework 1: Environmental Design Thinking

Don't just stress test in labs

Get into real tropical conditions ASAP

Partner with universities in Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines

Set up test installations in actual field conditions

Fail fast and cheap in R&D, not after scaling manufacturing

Framework 2: Regulatory Arbitrage Strategy

Find pockets where policy already supports your model

Malaysia: Feed-in tariffs and net metering policies support distributed solar + storage

Singapore: Regulatory sandboxes for energy innovation

Start there, prove model works, then expand to trickier markets

Framework 3: Stakeholder Ecosystem Mapping

Map key players for every target market: regulators, incumbent utilities, local partners

Thailand: Partner with PTT or EGAT instead of disrupting them

Malaysia: Work with Petronas

Indonesia: Engage with Pertamina

All have CVC arms and innovation programs looking for partnerships

Shell's LiveWire program operates across the region

Framework 4: Climate Adaptation as Competitive Advantage

Don't view tropical conditions as constraint—it's a feature

If hardware survives 35°C heat + 90% humidity, it works anywhere

Tropical market = Southeast Asia + huge chunks of Africa, Latin America, India, Middle East

Torture chamber produces the strongest survivors

The Meta Lesson: Climate tech is a systems challenge, not just engineering:

Building better batteries that work within political, regulatory, climate realities

Building systems that intelligently adapt vs. brute-forcing solutions

Building partnerships with incumbents vs. declaring war

Building for business model sustainability from day one

Smart Founder Strategy: Spend as much time in government ministries as in labs. Don't just build tech—help shape regulations that determine whether tech can scale. Become part of the policy conversation, not an obstacle to it.

SEGMENT 2: AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES IN SINGAPORE (Teased at 28:48)

The Setup: Chinese companies Pony.ai and WeRide launching autonomous shuttles in Punggol, Singapore. But their strategy looks nothing like Silicon Valley's "move fast and break things" approach.

Key Insight Preview: They're playing a completely different game—and it might be genius. (Full segment to be covered in next episode)

SEGMENT 3: SERIES A FUNDRAISING REALITY CHECK (Teased)

What's Coming:

Fresh data from Carta

Insider commentary from VC circles

Numbers that might make you cry into your pitch deck

Why this might actually be the best time to build if you're smart about it

(Full segment to be covered in next episode)

ACTIONABLE TAKEAWAYS

For Climate Tech Founders: ✅ Test in real tropical conditions early—don't wait until post-manufacturing ✅ Consider software-defined adaptation over hardware brute force ✅ Map regulatory landscape before scaling—find friendly markets first ✅ Partner with incumbents rather than fighting them ✅ Position tropical durability as global competitive advantage

For Investors: ✅ Due diligence must include field testing in deployment environments ✅ Account for regulatory risk, not just technology risk ✅ Demand unit economics from day one, not just deployment numbers ✅ Evaluate founder's understanding of policy landscape

For Corporate Executives: ✅ Partner with startups solving real problems, not pitching moonshots ✅ Ensure digital transformation infrastructure works in actual operating conditions ✅ Make strategic investments that support ecosystem resilience

CONNECT WITH US

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Follow the Hosts: 💼 Kim (WeiiSyuen Yeoh) on LinkedIn 💼 Kevin Brockland on LinkedIn

Join the Conversation: Is your hardware actually tropical-ready, or did you just check a box on a spec sheet? Share your experiences in the comments.

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

Organizations:

Malaysia's Sustainable Energy Development Authority (SEDA)

CSIRO

PTT (Thailand)

EGAT (Thailand)

Petronas (Malaysia)

Pertamina (Indonesia)

Shell LiveWire program

Topics:

Tropical Batteries Report 2025

Lithium-ion vs sodium-ion vs iron-air batteries

Sand battery technology (Vietnam)

Feed-in tariffs and net metering

Behind-the-meter projects

Regulatory sandboxes

Peer-to-peer energy trading

Upcoming:

Pony.ai and WeRide autonomous vehicle partnerships

Series A fundraising with Carta data

Special guest on distributed energy (launching end of year)

TAGS & KEYWORDS

#ClimateTeч #TropicalBatteries #HardwareStartups #SoutheastAsiaStartups #RenewableEnergy #EnergyStorage #MalaysiaTech #BatteryTechnology #CleanEnergy #StartupStrategy #RegulatoryStrategy #EnergyPolicy #SEDA #TropicalConditions #SustainableTech #SEAofStartups

Next Episode Preview: We'll dive into why Chinese AV companies are taking a radically different approach in Singapore, plus the Series A data that's separating winners from cautionary tales. Stay tuned.

Disclaimer: All views and opinions expressed are those of the hosts and do not represent any organizations mentioned. Content is for informational and entertainment purposes only and should not be considered professional, investment, or legal advice.

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