Singapore has launched its national hydrogen strategy, laying out a vision for the fuel to supply 50pc of the nation’s electricity demand by 2050 as part of its push for net zero by that year.

The strategy primarily focuses on R&D for midstream and end-use, as well as long-term land and infrastructure planning—and does not set any headline targets. It notes that, as an importer, Singapore’s cost of hydrogen deployment will likely be higher than for countries that are able to produce low-carbon hydrogen domestically.

Singapore imports nearly all of its energy, with 149.4mn t oe of imports in 2021 and limited options for renewables deployment. The country has no hydroelectric resource and geothermal energy is unfeasible, while surrounding wind speeds and mean tidal range are low, according to the government’s Energy Market Authority. While the country has invested in domestic solar development, with a SGD11mn ($7.7mn) floating solar testbed, it is likely to continue to depend on imports as it transitions to a low-carbon economy.

The nation plans to take a phased approach to importing low-carbon hydrogen, monitoring the technological developments of different carriers and end-use applications and staging “significant infrastructure investments accordingly to avoid stranded assets and land take”. Ammonia is noted as having current technological limitations when it comes to cracking back to hydrogen.

50pc – Expected share of Singapore’s 2050 electricity demand supplied by hydrogen

Singapore also plans to assess synergies between the adoption of hydrogen in different sectors to inform long-term planning.

“Today, global supply chains for low-carbon hydrogen have yet to develop, and key technologies that support the transportation of liquefied hydrogen and reconversion of hydrogen carriers are either nascent or have yet to demonstrate scale,” the strategy says.

Safety is also a key consideration in the Singaporean strategy, which notes the need for new operating standards and regulatory frameworks.

The government will provide an additional SGD129mn of funding under its Low-Carbon Energy Research (LCER) funding initiative, which covers hydrogen—although whether a specific portion will be ringfenced for hydrogen projects remains unclear. The first SGD55mn phase of the LCER has already funded research into areas such as the development of catalysts for ammonia cracking, and methane pyrolysis.

Maritime hubs

As the world’s largest bunkering hub, Singapore is also investigating the potential role hydrogen and ammonia could play in decarbonising marine fuels. The strategy anticipates “a multi-fuel transition”, with LNG expected to play a transition role, and highlights biofuels, methanol and ammonia as useful low-carbon fuels in the near term, with liquefied hydrogen potentially playing a role in the longer term.

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) is already working with industry to assess the feasibility of ammonia as a bunkering fuel and to accelerate its deployment in international shipping. The MPA is also working to define safety and operational envelopes for ammonia bunkering trials.

The strategy also expects hydrogen could be a feedstock for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in the near term, with fuel cell aircraft and liquefied hydrogen fuels on the horizon in the medium-to-long term. Refining firm Neste plans to start first production from a 1mn t/yr SAF plant—the largest in the world—at its Singapore facility in Q1 2023.

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Author: Polly Martin