Singapore eyes hydrogen developments to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 – minister

SINGAPORE (ICIS)–Singapore is aiming to develop hydrogen to supply up to half of its power needs by 2050 in a bid to accelerate its ambitions for net zero emissions, a senior government official said on Tuesday.

“Low-carbon hydrogen (including its derivatives such as ammonia) has emerged as a key potential pathway for Singapore,” Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Lawrence Wong said at the Singapore International Energy Week (SIEW) conference in Singapore.

“Hydrogen has the potential to be adopted across different sectors as a low-carbon fuel or feedstock,” he said.

Singapore now aims to achieve net-zero by 2050 as part of its long-term low emissions development strategy, Wong said.

Previously, the country had said it would do so “as soon as viable in the second half of the century”.

Besides domestic emissions, low-carbon hydrogen and hydrogen-derived fuels are potential alternatives to fossil fuels in the maritime and aviation sectors, Wong said.

“Singapore will take steps to prepare for hydrogen deployment domestically and work with partners to build a hydrogen supply chain in Asia,” he said, adding that the country will experiment with the use of advanced hydrogen technologies that are on the cusp of commercial readiness.

The Singapore government will also work closely with industry and international partners to enable the formation and scaling up of supply chains for low-carbon hydrogen, Wong said.

“This will 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,” he added.

Singapore’s hydrogen ambitions may generate significant economic activity and long-term value to the country and wider region, said Are Kaspersen, a Singapore-based associate partner at management consulting firm Bain & Company.

“The long-term opportunity is large, but the industry is nascent and there are few commercial opportunities in the short term,” Kaspersen said.

“One of the biggest challenges with hydrogen today is to break the supply-demand deadlock – certainty of demand is needed to develop supply but transitioning to hydrogen in demand-sectors requires supply commitment. The announcement will help give clarity and confidence to industries, investors, and policymakers,” Kaspersen added.

Focus article by Nurluqman Suratman