A group of corporations, consisting of Woodside Energy Ltd, Keppel Data Centres Holding Pte Ltd, City Energy Pte Ltd., Osaka Gas Singapore Pte Ltd. and City-OG Gas Energy Services Pte Ltd. has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to study the feasibility of a long-term, stable supply chain of sustainable Liquid Hydrogen (LH2) from Western Australia to Singapore and potentially Japan.
The agreement follows the announcement of the proposed H2Perth Hydrogen facility in Kwinana where Woodside will seek to establish a large-scale LH2 and Ammonia export hub. The study is expected to continue until mid-2022, at which juncture the parties will decide on the next phase of their collaboration.
Hydrogen does not emit carbon dioxide during combustion and is considered a promising next generation, low-carbon fuel that can be used in a range of applications including power generation, town gas and as an industrial feedstock. Hydrogen can be liquefied by cooling it to below negative 253 degrees Celsius, and LH2 occupies significantly less volume than in its gaseous state so it can be stored and transported more easily.
Woodside CEO Meg O’Neill said the MOU aligns with Woodside’s strategy to develop a diversified and scalable portfolio of new energy products to help reduce customers’ emissions.
“It is important for us to work collaboratively with potential customers and end users such as Keppel Data Centres, Osaka Gas Singapore, City Energy and City-OG Gas Energy Services to collaboratively build out a sustainable hydrogen supply chain from our proposed H2Perth Project.
“H2Perth is ideally located in Western Australia for shipping to Singapore and Japan and the project site is close to existing gas, power, water and port infrastructure, as well as a skilled local residential workforce,” she said.
The agreement supports the Singapore Green Plan, which charts ambitious and concrete targets over the next 10 years, strengthening Singapore’s commitments under the UN’s 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda and Paris Agreement, and positioning Singapore to achieve its long-term net zero emissions aspirations as soon as viable.
Mr Wong Wai Meng, CEO of Keppel Data Centres, said: “This MOU will explore the feasibility of harnessing LH2 from Australia to power our data centres in Singapore, with potential applications for other Keppel business units in future. This collaboration in the upstream LH2 supply chain complements the existing MOUs we have entered with various partners to explore the mid-to-downstream segments, including transportation, storage and regasification.”
“In line with Keppel’s Vision 2030 and carbon emission reduction targets, we are committed to the decarbonisation of data centre operations through our research efforts in LNG and hydrogen for power generation, floating data centres, and technologies for carbon capture, utilisation and sequestration.”
For piped town gas provider, City Energy, which is the national producer and retailer of town gas in
Singapore, this collaboration may significantly support its carbon reduction effort in piped town gas production or combustion.
Mr Perry Ong, Chief Executive Officer of City Energy and Chairman of City-OG Gas Energy Services, said: “As the nation’s sole piped town gas provider for more than 870,000 homes and businesses, decarbonising town gas is central to City Energy’s business strategy. We look forward to collaborating with our partners in this MOU to explore a greener future for our nation, in particular in studying the feasibility of importing green hydrogen for applications in town gas manufacturing processes to further lower carbon emissions.”
