SINGAPORE: Small modular reactors being looked at to power AI data centres by big tech could one day be deployed in Singapore, the CEO of the Energy Market Authority said on Monday (Oct 21).

Small modular reactors are advanced nuclear reactors that have a power capacity of about a third of the generating capacity of traditional nuclear power reactors.

Singapore has been looking at the use of nuclear energy for some time, Mr Puah Kok Keong told CNA on the sidelines of the Singapore International Energy Week summit.

He noted that about 10 years ago, the government did a feasibility study on nuclear energy, and the conclusion at the time was that the size of conventional nuclear energy reactors would not be suitable for Singapore due to space limitations. 

However, technology developers are looking at smaller, safer modular reactors, and it is a space that Singapore is “going to be watching very closely”, he said. 

“These have a lot more passive safety designs that will prevent the reactors from a meltdown. Their smaller size also makes them suitable for smaller power systems like Singapore’s,” he said.

While there are no commercially operated small modular reactors yet, Singapore will look into the option when it is on the market, he said.

“Once those are available, we will be quite keen to look at how they are operated, to look at, in more detail, their safety features, their safety issues, and then we make another assessment whether or not those will be suitable for implementation in Singapore,” he said.

AMMONIA AS AN OPTION

A renewable energy source Singapore is looking to use sooner is ammonia.

Singapore aims to import up to 6 gigawatts of low-carbon electricity by 2035, which would make up around 30 per cent of the nation’s projected electricity supply.

The EMA, along with the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore, is trying to use 100 per cent ammonia for power generation as well as for marine bunkering.

Related:Singapore moves to import more low-carbon electricity from Indonesia

Already, four Singapore-registered ships that use ammonia as marine fuel alongside diesel are set to sail around 2026.

“We are eagerly working with the two consortiums that have been shortlisted to do feasibility studies,” said Mr Puah.

“They will  look at the design of it, they will look at the cost of it, and then when ready, we hope to be able to award one of the two of them to eventually implement a project.”

CHALLENGES CAN BE OVERCOME

Even as Singapore explores low-carbon options like ammonia and green hydrogen, Mr Puah pointed out that the challenges of such energy sources are “not small”.

For green hydrogen, while the technology for production is now well-known, its cost and transportation costs need to be further looked into for scaling up to drive such costs down.

When it comes to ammonia, its advantage over green hydrogen is that it is a lot denser in terms of energy content and is a lot easier to compress and liquefy and therefore transport, said Mr Puah. 

“But the use of ammonia compared to hydrogen in power generation is a lot less tested,” he noted.

However, Mr Puah said that these are challenges that can be overcome.

Related:CNA Explains: Singapore's energy sources and the future of its electricity supply Global energy transition 'unworkable, unaffordable': Aramco president calls for a 2.0 plan

“I am optimistic that if enough effort, enough energy is put into working on the problems, and scaling it up, it is quite possible to drive down the cost curve quite quickly,” he said.

He gave the examples of wind and solar power, which became more affordable in the last five years - even more so than conventional fossil fuel-based power generation - despite being very expensive about 15 years ago.

While there could still be intermittency issuessure win ph, better battery solutions - which can store excess energy generated by solar and wind systems and then release it during peak periods - are being developed to overcome them, he added. 

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