Delivering the Singapore Energy Lecture at the start of the Singapore International Energy Week, Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said that low-carbon hydrogen is being seen as an increasingly promising solution.
“While the technology and supply chains are still nascent, momentum has picked up substantially in recent years. Global investment in low-carbon hydrogen has increased exponentially, backed by policies from countries around the world to accelerate its production and usage,” said Wong.
There was now a growing pipeline of production projects worldwide, and key technologies being trialled were expected to become commercially available in the coming years, he noted.
As a result, these developments have given the authorities confidence that low-carbon hydrogen can be the “next frontier” in domestic efforts to reduce Singapore’s emissions, alongside other renewable energy sources domestically.
This comes as Singapore has raised its climate ambition, committing to net-zero emissions by 2050, the government said yesterday.
Singapore’s greenhouse gas emissions will also reach 60 million tonnes by 2030 after peaking earlier this decade. Emissions were previously forecast to peak at around 65 million tonnes by 2030.
The power sector accounts for about 40% of Singapore’s emissions. While a report released by the Energy Market Authority in March had low-carbon hydrogen as a potential solution to helping Singapore achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, this would require strong global cooperation, and for energy and digital technologies to develop rapidly enough.
With land constraints and limited resources, the bulk of low-carbon hydrogen would likely have to come from imports.
Wong noted that low-carbon hydrogen could also decarbonise sectors that cannot be easily electrified – for instance, hydrogen could be used as a feedstock in semiconductor plants and petrochemical processes.
“Besides lowering emissions, it also allows companies to produce sustainable products that could fetch a green premium,” he added.
In addition, hydrogen could also be used to produce low-carbon fuels in the maritime and aviation sectors.
To prepare for the deployment of hydrogen domestically and to build a hydrogen supply chain in Asia, Singapore will experiment with advanced hydrogen technologies that could soon be commercially ready.
Research and development work will be furthered to advance these hydrogen technologies – with hydrogen as a key focal area of phase two of the Low-Carbon Energy Research Programme, said Wong.
In October last year, S$55mil (RM182.8mil) in projects were awarded for research in low-carbon technologies, ranging from carbon capture and utilisation technology to hydrogen.
A further S$129mil (RM428.8mil) will be set aside for phase two of the programme, which will unlock key technological bottlenecks so that Singapore is able to import, handle and utilise low-carbon hydrogen safely and at scale.
The republic will also be developing new infrastructure to import, store and transform hydrogen into power.
The relevant land and infrastructure plants will be developed and implemented accordingly, said MTI. — The Straits Times/ANN
