12 Projects Awarded $55 Million to Accelerate Decarbonisation in Singapore
25 Oct 2021
Under the Low-Carbon Energy Research Funding Initiative
(LCER FI), the Singapore Government has awarded $55 million to support 12
research, development and
demonstration projects on low-carbon energy technology solutions. This
significant investment in low-carbon energy solutions is part of the Singapore
Energy Story
[1], and
will support our ambitions under the Long-Term Low-Emissions Development
Strategy
[2] and the
Singapore Green Plan
[3].
2 On the
importance of the LCER FI award, Minister for Trade and Industry Mr Gan Kim
Yong said: “As an
alternative energy-disadvantaged country, we have to invest early in low-carbon
energy technologies such as hydrogen, and carbon capture, utilisation and
storage (CCUS), so that we are able to meet emission targets in 2050 and beyond. They will complement
decarbonisation efforts such as solar deployment and low-carbon electricity
imports into Singapore, which can contribute to emission cuts in the nearer
term. The first LCER FI grant call saw the submission of more than 50 strong
research proposals across a wide range of emerging hydrogen and CCUS solutions.This is encouraging. It is a testament to
Singapore’s research and development capabilities, which will play a key role
in our collective efforts to build a more sustainable future.”
3 Funds awarded are from the $49 million
LCER FI announced in October 2020 with additional funding support from the
Research, Innovation and Enterprise 2025 (RIE2025) budget. The 12 awarded
projects will improve the technical and economic feasibility of
implementing low-carbon technologies that support the decarbonisation of
Singapore’s power and industry sectors, across two key areas:
- Hydrogen: Hydrogen is a versatile energy
carrier that can be used to store and transport energy. It does not emit carbon dioxide
when used as fuel and has the potential to diversify Singapore’s fuel mix. However,
at this point hydrogen is too expensive to be used widely. Projects funded
under the LCER FI will go towards reducing costs and increasing efficiencies of
hydrogen-related processes. For example, projects will look at developing
easier ways to transport hydrogen by using ammonia, and enabling the safe
deployment of hydrogen by developing sensors to detect hydrogen leaks. One
project will explore reducing the cost of using Liquid Organic Hydrogen
Carriers for the transportation of hydrogen.
- Carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS): CCUS
has the potential to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by
capturing and converting CO2 emissions from power plants and
industrial facilities into useful products (e.g. building materials,
reclamation sand and synthetic fuels), or for storage underground. Projects
will explore using captured CO2 to make alternatives to sand which
can be used for construction purposes. Others include developing CO2
capture technologies such as novel membranes or novel materials to absorb CO2
using ashes collected from Singapore’s waste-to-energy facilities. One project will
also explore the use of captured CO2 and water to produce important
commodity chemicals for industrial processes.
(Details of all awarded projects can be found in Annex
A).
4 The LCER FI is a multi-agency initiative involving the
Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), the Economic Development
Board (EDB), the Energy
Market Authority (EMA), the National Climate Change
Secretariat (NCCS), and the National Research Foundation (NRF). It is co-driven
by EDB and EMA to guide private sector consortia on the development and deployment
of low-carbon solutions, the development of hydrogen supply chains, and to ensure
projects awarded are relevant to the industrial and power sectors.The 12 awarded projects were
selected after a grant call was launched in January 2021 by A*STAR,as the implementing agency on behalf of
the government.
5 Emerging
low-carbon alternatives is one of four switches in the Singapore Energy Story to build a more sustainable
energy future. The Government has also conducted two feasibility studies on low-carbon
hydrogen and CCUS technologies, from which key findings
[4]
were used to evaluate proposals received under the LCER FI grant call. The Singapore Government welcomes more of such
partnerships, and opportunities to pilot new technologies in
sectors including maritime, aviation, mobility, industry and power sectors.
Annex A: Details of Awarded Projects
Annex B: Factsheet on Advancing Singapore’s Energy Transition Towards a
More Sustainable Future
Annex C: Factsheet for Singapore’s Long-Term Low-Emissions
Development Strategy
Annex D: Factsheet for the
Singapore Green Plan
[1] Details on Advancing
Singapore’s Energy Transition Towards a More Sustainable Future can be found in
Annex B.
[2] Details on
Singapore’s Long-Term Low-Emissions Development Strategy can be found in Annex C.
[3] Details on
the Singapore Green Plan can be found in Annex D.
[4] The “Study
of Hydrogen Imports and Downstream Applications for Singapore” was jointly
commissioned by the National Climate Change Secretariat (NCCS), Singapore
Economic Development Board (EDB) and Energy Market Authority (EMA); while the
study on “Carbon Capture, Storage, and Utilisation: Decarbonisation Pathways
for Singapore’s Energy and Chemicals Sectors” was jointly commissioned by NCCS
and EDB. Detailed findings of the feasibility studies are available at:
- https://www.nccs.gov.sg/singapores-climate-action/low-carbon-tech/hc
- https://www.nccs.gov.sg/singapores-climate-action/low-carbon-tech/ccus
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