Singapore to explore ammonia-fuelled power, develop hydrogen infrastructure: MTI
SINGAPORE will embark on a wide range of initiatives to prepare for hydrogen deployment domestically and work to build a hydrogen supply chain in Asia as it bets on the low-carbon alternative to achieve its net-zero emissions ambitions., the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) announced on Tuesday (Oct 25).
Singapore will launch an expression of interest for a small-scale commercial project on utilising ammonia for power generation, which includes developing ammonia supply chains to support marine bunkering needs. This will also enable the assessment of ammonia’s viability as both a hydrogen carrier and as a direct fuel, and the development of supportive regulations and an ecosystem.
Hydrogen will also be a key focal area for Phase 2 of Singapore’s Low Carbon Energy Research (LCER) programme. A year ago, MTI awarded S$55 million for projects under Phase 1 of the programme for research into low-carbon technologies. A further S$129 million is being earmarked for Phase 2.
The government is also looking to work closely with industry and international partners to enable the formation and scaling up of supply chains for low-carbon hydrogen. Such efforts include advancing the development of Guarantee of Origin certification methodologies, ensuring that methodologies are interoperable across jurisdictions, and building a trading and financing ecosystem to facilitate global trade of low-carbon hydrogen.
Apart from these, MTI said that it will develop the land and infrastructure needed to import, store and transform hydrogen into power, and pace the implementation accordingly. The ministry will also support workforce training for the sector.
The moves come as Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong announced on Tuesday at the Singapore International Energy Week that Singapore will commit to more ambition climate goals, including achieving net zero emissions by 2050.
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Under scenarios outlined by the Energy Market Authority in March this year, Singapore’s path toward net zero will rely heavily on hydrogen as a major alternative to electricity imports. Depending on technological developments and the growth of other energy sources, up to half of Singapore’s power needs could be fuelled by low-carbon hydrogen by 2050.
Hydrogen has emerged as a top pick to diversify the city-state’s fuel mix for power generation, because of its potential for adoption across various sectors as a low-carbon fuel or as feedstock. Hydrogen does not release greenhouse gases when combusted, and produces close to zero emissions when produced through low-emission methods such as electrolysis of water using renewable energy.
But many hydrogen technologies are still under development, and a global supply chain has yet to be established, MTI acknowledged.
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However, it said public and private sectors across the world have signalled an interest in speeding up the development of hydrogen across the value chain. Signs of this interest are indicated in the growing pipeline of production projects around the world, and active industry and research efforts into hydrogen technologies.
Speaking at the Singapore International Energy Week on Tuesday, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Lawrence Wong said low-carbon hydrogen is an “increasingly promising solution”. While technology and supply chains are still nascent in this space, Wong noted that momentum has “picked up substantially in recent years”.
For Singapore, Wong said hydrogen can be used to decarbonise activities that cannot be easily electrified. This is particularly relevant to sectors that are “critical” to the Republic, he noted.
For instance, hydrogen can be used in the industrial sector as feedstock in semiconductor plants and petrochemical processes. In the maritime and aviation sectors, hydrogen can also be used to produce low-carbon fuels.
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