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SUCCESS CASE
How a Subsea Infrastructure Specialist Secured Close to S$30K for US IP Expansion
RIC helped a Singapore subsea infrastructure specialist secure MRA support for international patent filing as part of its US market expansion strategy.
CATEGORY
Overseas Expansion
CLIENT TYPE
Subsea infrastructure / offshore renewable energy
GRANT TYPE
Market Readiness Assistance Grant support
FUNDING SECURED
Close to S$30,000
About the Client and Project
Client Profile
The client is a Singapore-based engineering and infrastructure specialist focused on subsea telecommunications and offshore renewable energy projects. Founded in 2015, it has grown to a 15-person team, generates over S$13 million in annual revenue, and derives more than 85% of sales from overseas markets. The company has invested over S$6 million in capitalised development and is developing proprietary offshore renewable technologies, including innovative floating solar solutions.
Project Nature
The project involved strategic IP-focused expansion into the US market and other high-potential jurisdictions. The client pursued international patent protection for an integrated float-and-solar-panel system designed for offshore renewable energy applications. The project covered PCT filing and protection strategy across key jurisdictions including the US, Japan, China, South Korea, and Vietnam. The IP initiative was intended to protect the client’s technology before commercialisation, strengthen investor confidence, and support market entry discussions in the global renewable energy sector.
Funding Objective and Challenge
Funding Objective
The funding objective was to support the client’s overseas market entry through Enterprise Singapore’s Market Readiness Assistance Grant. The grant helped co-fund international patent filing expenses linked to US market entry and broader multi-jurisdictional protection. The project aimed to reduce the upfront cost of overseas IP protection, strengthen the client’s commercialisation readiness, protect proprietary renewable energy technology, and support expansion into international markets with stronger IP assets in place.
The Challenge
The client was an engineering and infrastructure specialist with strong overseas traction and deep technical capabilities in subsea telecommunications and offshore renewable energy. As it developed proprietary floating solar technology, the company needed to protect its innovation before entering larger overseas markets. The challenge was to frame international patent filing as a market entry enabler, not simply a legal cost. The grant case had to show how IP protection in the US and other strategic jurisdictions would support commercialisation, investor discussions, partner engagement, overseas revenue growth, and long-term positioning in global renewable energy infrastructure.
How RIC Supported the Client
RIC supported the client in securing MRA support for its strategic IP-focused overseas expansion project.
RIC’s support included:
• Scoping and articulating the technical novelty and market relevance of the client’s floating solar panel invention.
• Framing the project around international market entry, IP protection, and renewable energy commercialisation.
• Developing a jurisdiction strategy covering the US, Japan, China, South Korea, and Vietnam under the Patent Cooperation Treaty route.
• Assessing and documenting the invention’s commercial and technical impact, including logistics cost reduction, ease of assembly, and improved energy generation efficiency.
• Coordinating with suitable IP consultants and structuring the implementation cost plan.
• Preparing grant documentation for MRA submission.
• Supporting compliance, milestone tracking, evidence collation, and claims readiness.
RIC’s role was to help the client connect IP strategy, technical innovation, and overseas market entry into a coherent and fundable MRA project.
Outcome
FUNDING SECURED
Close to S$30,000
The client secured close to S$30,000 in MRA funding support to co-fund international patent filing expenses. The project supported PCT filing and multi-jurisdictional IP protection for an integrated float-and-solar-panel system with commercialisation potential in the global renewable energy sector. It also laid the foundation for projected overseas revenue of S$4 million within three years, enabled US market entry with strategic IP protection in place, opened investor and partner discussions, and strengthened the client’s long-term positioning as a floating solar infrastructure innovator.
What This Means for Similar Companies
For deep-tech, engineering, and renewable energy companies, overseas expansion may need to begin with IP protection before sales activity. This case shows that patent filing can be part of a market entry strategy when it is clearly linked to commercialisation, partner discussions, investor readiness, and target market access. Companies with proprietary technology should avoid treating IP as an isolated legal exercise. The stronger grant case connects technical novelty, jurisdiction selection, commercial impact, overseas revenue potential, and market entry execution.
