Singapore launches S$143 million Industry Decarbonisation Funding Initiative for manufacturing
Singapore has launched a S$143 million initiative to develop industrial decarbonisation technologies. The funding will support industry-led research and five projects scaling up low-carbon technologies for real-world testing.
Singapore will launch a S$143 million (US$112 million) initiative as part of efforts to decarbonise its manufacturing industry. The Industry Decarbonisation Funding Initiative will support the development of technologies that show the most promise in addressing key challenges that Singapore's industries face in decarbonisation, said Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong on Friday (23 Oct) at the Singapore Industry Decarbonisation Forum.
Mr Gan, who is also Minister for Energy, Trade and Industry (Trade), said manufacturing contributes around 20 per cent of Singapore's gross domestic product and employs an eighth of its workforce. He noted that industries account for around 65 per cent of Singapore's emissions, including emissions from the electricity they use, and reducing these significantly is essential for Singapore to achieve its net-zero target by 2050.
The S$143 million initiative is part of the S$800 million Decarbonisation Grand Challenge (DGC), which supports innovation from research and development through to demonstration. Up to S$100 million will be set aside for a programme called Decarbonisation Research for Industry, Ventures, and Enterprise (DRIVE), giving companies a direct role in shaping research. Under DRIVE, companies will take the lead in defining the decarbonisation challenges they want solved and can tap on Singapore's research capabilities to co-develop solutions, with applications opening on Friday.
Five projects previously supported under Singapore's Low Carbon Energy Research programme will receive follow-on funding under a S$65 million grant call to scale up their technologies and test them in real-world industrial settings. The S$62 million Low-Carbon Technology Translational Testbed on Jurong Island, hosted at A*STAR's Institute of Sustainability for Chemicals, Energy and Environment, will provide facilities for testing technologies under industry-relevant conditions. Construction is underway, and its first three industry users – IHI Corporation, Amogy and Metha8 – have been secured.
Mr Gan also announced that Keppel Energy, Sembcorp Utilities and Tuas Power Generation had been approved as aggregators to import and supply biomethane into Singapore. The appointments are part of the government's next steps after establishing a regulatory sandbox last year to work through supply chains, commercial arrangements and regulatory framework needed for the gas's adoption. The sandbox will help pave the way for wider biomethane adoption, supporting up to 300 megawatts of capacity from 2028.
