Keppel Infrastructure and ExxonMobil Asia-Pacific have signed a memorandum of understanding to develop low-carbon hydrogen and ammonia for scalable commercial and industrial applications in Singapore.

As part of a national hydrogen strategy unveiled last October, Singapore government agencies called for an expression of interest in December for proposals to build, own and operate low-or zero-carbon power generation and bunkering facilities on Jurong Island.

Currently, natural gas meets most of Singapore’s power generation demands. But the government plans to replace up to half of those needs with hydrogen by 2050.

Cindy Lim, CEO of Keppel Infrastructure, said: “As a forerunner in the energy space, Keppel is pleased to work with ExxonMobil to accelerate the end-to-end development and deployment of ammonia to support industries and Singapore’s sustainability goals.”

ExxonMobil’s Asia Pacific president for low carbon solutions, Irtiza Sayyed, said: “This is an example of how we can provide critical, scalable solutions to reduce CO2 emissions in support of our company’s and Singapore’s net-zero ambitions.”

ExxonMobil is amid a multi-billion expansion of its refinery complex on Jurong Island in Singapore’s west to convert fuel oil and other bottom-of-the-barrel crude products into higher-value lube and distillates. The US energy giant is also advancing its low-carbon hydrogen facility at its integrated complex in Baytown, Texas, from where ammonia will be produced.

Keppel is looking to use low-carbon hydrogen for Singapore’s first hydrogen-ready 600MW advanced combined cycle power plant, to be known as the Keppel Sakra Cogen plant. Also sited on Jurong Island, Keppel’s Sakra Cogen plant is expected to be completed in the first half of 2026.

Keppel is also conducting a feasibility study to develop a power plant that could use ammonia directly as a fuel on Jurong Island.

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