How Asia is building net-zero infrastructure: From hydrogen trains to brownfield renewal

In Malaysia, we serve as the system engineering and assurance consultant for the Kuching Urban Transit system, which is poised to be home to one of the world's first hydrogen-powered trains. By proving that hydrogen technology can operate safely and efficiently, the project paves the way for zero-emissions rail while easing congestion in the city's historic center.

In Singapore, we serve not only as the project management consultant for the Formula One Singapore Grand Prix but also play a key role as their carbon, sustainability and ESG advisor.  Our role included measuring their carbon footprint using first principles, preparing their first-ever ESG report, and advising on technical approaches to reduce embodied and operational carbon every year since 2022. Motorsport and sustainability have not traditionally gone hand in hand, but by introducing more structured ESG reporting into such a high-profile, complex environment, we're demonstrating how sustainability can drive meaningful change – even in the most unexpected places.

Hong Kong's Northern Metropolis is poised to be one of the region's most significant brownfield and greenfield redevelopments. Accommodating 2.5 million residents and creating 650,000 jobs, it is a proving ground for advanced sustainable systems – including localized waste processing, waste-to-energy, district cooling, SGR (Smart Green Resilient) infrastructure, and smart green mobility. Embedding these technologies from the outset challenges the notion that mega-developments must come at the expense of the environment. Instead, it demonstrates how global expertise and local insight can work together to deliver lasting ESG impact.

Global-local collaboration on sustainable infrastructure

Sustainable transformation doesn't happen in a silo. It takes global-local partnerships to raise the bar – for our industry and the communities we serve.

I experienced this firsthand as Asia's representative in a six-month technical development sustainability program – Carbon Academy that brought together specialists from across AtkinsRéalis. By sharing best practices, lessons and perspectives, we created new pathways for collaboration that continue to shape how we deliver for clients today.

A powerful example of global-local collaboration is our 30+ year partnership with Hong Kong International Airport. If you've flown into the city, you've landed on a runway designed by AtkinsRéalis. Most recently, during the construction of the third runway, we helped the Airport Authority achieve a CEEQUAL "Excellent" sustainability rating of over 90%. It's a testament to how our Hong Kong team, working alongside colleagues in the UK, delivers innovative, secure and enduring outcomes.

Connected teams, smarter cities: End-to-end delivery from Hong Kong to Doha

When we mobilize the right expertise from across our global network, we can deliver outcomes at any scale and complexity. In Asia, the Carbon, Sustainability, and Net Zero team connects with 38,000 colleagues worldwide to tackle challenges from strategy through to execution.

The Tsui Ping River Revitalization in Hong Kong. Once a polluted industrial site, it has been transformed into a vibrant, award-winning public space where residents can walk, cycle, and reconnect with nature. By leveraging our Global Capabilities initiative, we brought together leading subject matter experts to integrate nature-based design and resilient engineering, delivering a cost-efficient, safe, and high-quality solution that enriches the community.

In the Middle East, the Doha Metro showcases how integrated, multidisciplinary delivery can achieve excellence under pressure. An international team of 200 engineers, project managers, consultants, and technical specialists collaborated to complete this complex system in time for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Faced with an immovable deadline, our project management office unlocked cost and time efficiencies by sequencing and accelerating the construction process. The result: a metro delivered safely, efficiently, and to world-class standards – on time for the nation and its fans.

From brownfield redevelopment to smart green mobility, sustainability is no longer a distant ambition – it's happening now. Whether it's hydrogen-powered trains in Malaysia or the Northern Metropolis in Hong Kong, AtkinsRéalis is helping to define what's possible in engineering Asia's future.