The Singapore government has awarded $55 million to support 12 low-carbon energy projects under the Low-Carbon Energy Research Funding Initiative (LCER FI).
The 12 awarded projects focus on carbon capture and the use of hydrogen in power generation, and were selected by the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) from a grant call launched in January.
The project teams come from different departments of the National University of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University and A*STAR.
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, hydrogen is currently too expensive to be used widely. Projects funded under the LCER FI will go towards reducing costs and increasing efficiencies of hydrogen-related processes.
Carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) has the potential to reduce CO2 emissions by capturing and converting emissions from power plants and industrial facilities into useful products, such as building materials, reclamation sand and synthetic fuels, or for storage underground.
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These projects will make low-carbon technologies more feasible, as Singapore works to decarbonise its power and industry.
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.
“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,” says Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong in a press release on Oct 25.
“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,” he adds.
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The LCER FI is a multi-agency initiative involving 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 announcement comes at the start of the 14th Singapore International Energy Week, running from Oct 25 to 29.
