Singapore's City Energy eyes hydrogen imports from Malaysia by 2027
24/10/2023 08:38
SINGAPORE, Oct 24 (Reuters) - Singapore's City Energy
said on Tuesday it will conduct a feasibility study with
Gentari, Petronas' renewables unit, on a proposed pipeline to
export hydrogen from Malaysia to the city state, with a view to
it becoming operational by 2027.
The study will focus on the transport of "low carbon
hydrogen" via a pipeline between the Malaysian state of Johor
and City Energy's Senoko gasworks plant, City Energy's Chief
Executive Perry Ong told reporters.
He did not say whether it would be blue hydrogen, which is
created from natural gas, or green hydrogen, created from
renewable energy. He also said there was no cost estimate for
the project so far or any decision how it would be financed if
it goes ahead.
Gentari, owned by Malaysian state-run energy giant Petronas,
produces both blue and green hydrogen, according to the
company's website.
Gentari and City Energy signed a memorandum of understanding
in April agreeing to explore Singapore importing hydrogen from
Malaysia.
City Energy, a subsidiary of Keppel Infrastructure Trust,
has a total production capacity of 1.6 million cubic metres of
town gas, including some grey hydrogen production from natural
gas, Keppel's website showed.
Grey hydrogen is created using natural gas but the process
generates more carbon emissions than blue hydrogen which
captures and stores carbons as it is produced.
"There are many studies right now globally which are looking
at different technologies to import in hydrogen but largely they
are all focused on putting them on to vessels, on to ships, to
cross oceans... But the cost structure for carrying the hydrogen
on vessels across oceans are likely to be more expensive," Ong
said.
Piped hydrogen could potentially be the lowest cost to
import hydrogen into Singapore, given the "relatively short
distance" between Singapore and Malaysia, Ong said.
City Energy aims to supply the imported hydrogen mainly to
the commercial and industrial sectors, which form the bulk of
its customer base at the moment, Ong said.
(Reporting by Trixie Yap; Editing by Susan Fenton)
((trixie.yap@thomsonreuters.com;))