Out-Law / Your Daily Need-To-Know

Singapore and New Zealand to develop hydrogen standards

21 Jul 2021, 11:56 pm

Singapore and New Zealand will work together to develop standards and certification to allow their hydrogen industries to work together, they have said.

The work will help in establishing a supply chain for low carbon and its derivatives, conducting joint research, development and deployment studies, and strengthening networks and partnerships, according to a statement of Singapore’s Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI).

It is a part of Singapore’s goal to build an international network for low carbon hydrogen cooperation and strengthen its hub capacity in the low carbon hydrogen value chain.

MTI second minister Tan See Leng said it was “a key milestone in our bilateral energy cooperation”.

Mark Tan of Pinsent Masons MPillay, the Singapore joint law venture between MPillay and Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law, said: “The signing of the deal on low carbon hydrogen between Singapore and New Zealand is another step forward in the drive by both countries to expand the expand the network for low carbon hydrogen cooperation globally. Such collaboration arguably also brings Singapore one step closer to meeting its climate commitments as it partners with a like-minded country to develop low carbon technological solutions.”

“Hydrogen holds a lot of potential as an alternative fuel option that enables various sectors of the economy to reduce carbon footprints. Not only is it cleaner and more efficient than traditional combustion-based powered sources of energy, it is also renewable and readily available. Therefore, it is envisaged that this collaboration will potentially create opportunities for both economies to transform their respective energy and transport sector, and to better adapt to the impact of climate change,” he said.

In 2020, Singapore signed a deal on low carbon technologies with Australia and a deal on low carbon hydrogen with Chile in February.

In July, Singapore set new measures and goals for reaching its goal of peak carbon emission in 2025. The country and the UK started negotiating a UK-Singapore Digital Economy Agreement (UKSDEA) in the same month. Singapore launched its Green Plan 2030 in February in order to drive the country’s sustainability agenda in the next 10 years.