Jurong Port, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Asia Pacific (MHI-AP), a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and JERA Asia, a subsidiary of JERA, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to jointly explore establishing a 100% ammonia direct combustion power plant on Jurong Island, Singapore, which is home to the nation’s chemical and energy industries.
Under the terms of the MOU, a collaborative research will be conducted in which a 60MW class gas turbine combined cycle plant fueled by 100% ammonia will be established to generate carbon-neutral power and boost ammonia demand in preparation for future ammonia bunkering.
This Memorandum of Understanding is a continuation of an agreement made between Jurong Port and MHI-AP in August 2021 for a pre-feasibility study on ammonia direct combustion technology for green power production, which was successfully completed in March 2022.
The Singaporean government increased its climate goal in February of this year to attain net-zero CO2 emissions by or around 2050. This project is consistent with national decarbonization objectives because it intends to use ammonia – which can efficiently transport and store hydrogen in a liquid state at low cost – as a fuel to generate carbon-free electricity and as the primary bunkering fuel to decarbonize the maritime sector in the future. Therefore, the MOU will investigate the potential and marketing of ammonia for various uses.
“We feel this MoU could help pave the way for encouraging the adoption of hydrogen in Singapore through aggregation of demand across multiple sectors, mainly the power sector and the maritime sector, thereby addressing the chicken-and-egg conundrum of infrastructure versus demand needs for maritime and domestic power generation. This collaboration is certainly consistent with the spirit of reinforcing Singapore’s premier bunkering hub status – for current, transition and future fuels.” said Ooi Boon Hoe, Chief Executive Officer, Jurong Port.
Osamu Ono, Managing Director, MHI-AP, said: “Ammonia, which consists of hydrogen and nitrogen, is a highly efficient hydrogen carrier and can be directly combusted as a carbon neutral fuel, thereby contributing to the establishment of a robust hydrogen value chain. At MHI, we believe that ammonia and hydrogen are key fuels that can help countries meet their net zero goals, and this MoU is an exciting opportunity for us to contribute our technology and expertise to achieve sustainable development in Singapore and subsequently realize the global sustainability agenda.”
“JERA is committed to providing cutting edge solutions to the world’s energy issues and is actively working to strengthen both the ammonia and hydrogen value chains. We believe this MoU offers a unique opportunity to support Singapore’s decarbonization efforts while advancing the ammonia technology development for carbon neutral power generation. Through initiatives like this, JERA will leverage its experience and capabilities to help countries to reach their net-zero CO2 emissions targets and to build a clean energy supply chain in the region,” said Toshiro Kudama, Chief Executive Officer, JERA Asia.
Utilizing their respective technologies, resources, and expertise, the three companies will collaborate to achieve net-zero CO2 emissions in Singapore.
