An engineer building for good
For alumnus Allan Lim, engineering is more than a profession, it’s a way to solve real-world problems. From pioneering Singapore’s first biodiesel and now running an urban farm, he continues to forge his path in sustainability businesses.
Text: Vivien Yap
Allan Lim struggled academically in his undergraduate days and repeated a year after failing a module in NTU. “All my friends had graduated while I was still eating canteen food,” he recalls with a laugh.
Despite his setbacks, NTU gave Allan the chance to experience academic freedom. The university’s academic unit system allowed him to pick modules beyond engineering courses. This broadened his outlook as a future engineer and gave him space to explore and think out of the box.
“In my first year in NTU, one of my professors said that as a civil engineer, you can build a hundred things but if you fail once, that’ll be the end. I relished that kind of challenge, it made building things very real,” he says.
Allan’s eagerness to take on challenges would pair well with his all-rounded education at NTU in his future entrepreneurial achievements.
Allan (right) with fellow co-founder and Chief Operations Officer of Alpha Biofuels, Jack Ling, posing with a bottle of Singapore’s first biodiesel. (Photo: Alpha Biofuels)
Breaking into clean energy
After graduation, Allan did what most of his peers did and entered the construction industry. But reality was harsh, and he struggled through a series of difficult jobs before working at a small hardware shop. It was this unexpected workplace that changed his outlook on life.
“My boss was a humble man who could design industrial buildings on a small table at the back of his shop,” Allan recalls. “He made me realise that you don’t need a big company to do meaningful work. You just need intellect, skill, and purpose.”
Allan (fourth row, first from right) with his batchmates in NTU back in the day. (Photo: Allan Lim)
This inspired him and he co-founded Alpha Biofuels in 2007, a company that converted used cooking oil into biodiesel.
“The very first litre of biodiesel made in Singapore was from my mom’s kitchen,” he says proudly.
As Alpha Biofuels struggled to take off in its early days, Allan reconnected with his former lecturer at NTU, Assoc Prof Lok Tat Seng. “Prof Lok told me to think long term and that my current difficulties were just small instances of failures – he told me not to give up,” Allan recalls.
Alpha Biofuels would later go on to collaborate with NTU’s Maritime Energy & Sustainable Development Centre of Excellence (MESD) to develop biofuels for the maritime industry, tying NTU back into Allen’s sustainability journey.
Reflecting on his relationship with NTU as an entrepreneur, Allan says, “My journey with NTU was filled with challenges and possibilities – with many opportunities available but not all yielded fruit. However, collaborating with NTU’s academic network has been comforting and assuring in my pursuit of sustainable energy with Alpha Biofuels.”
Engineering the impossible with agriculture
Constantly driven by his passion for sustainability, Allan soon found his next business venture – this time in agritech.
The business idea started with a community garden in Bukit Panjang to promote bonding between residents of all ages. The humble initiative inspired him to use urban farming to improve Singapore’s food security.
However, his idea of converting underused rooftops into farms was not well received as the regulations in 2011 only allowed farming on designated agricultural land.
“I persuaded then-chairperson of the Garden City Action Committee, Ms Chang Hwee Nee, to give me two years. If my idea worked, we would proceed but if it didn’t, we would shut it down,” says Allen.
The result was ComCrop, Singapore’s first commercial rooftop farm. Its pilot at the vacant rooftop of *SCAPE on Orchard Road was one of the first urban farms in Singapore.
Allan building the first version of ComCrop’s rooftop farm at *SCAPE in 2015. (Photo: ComCrop)
Allan’s persistence would go on to change governmental regulations and open doors for urban farms to operate across Singapore.
Today, ComCrop operates a 35,000-square-foot facility in Woodlands, which used to be a rooftop carpark. The commercial rooftop farm uses cutting-edge hydroponic and automation technology to grow vegetables like chye sim, lettuce and more – enough to supply local supermarkets daily.
Allan (third from left) and his team at ComCrop’s facility at Woodlands. (Photo: ComCrop)
Helping others thrive with sustainability
Beyond ComCrop and Alpha Biofuels, Allan continues to give back through active volunteer work on various boards and councils. He currently serves on the school advisory council of Greenwood Primary School, where he focuses on improving nutritional support and social mobility for students. He donates nutritious foods to the school and introduces students to chess to uplift underprivileged youth.
As an experienced entrepreneur, Allan’s advice to the young ones: “You need tenacity, empathy and a deep sense of mission to want to come into this industry. Sustainability is about creating conditions for others to thrive, so be pragmatic and remember to be patient. The world is ever-changing, and things take time.”
The friendships forged in those years also became a foundational source of support for Allan. “My closest friends today are the ones I met at NTU,” he shares. “They have always been there for me, and even if I’ve experienced many setbacks, never once did I feel judged.”
