Singapore Decarbonisation Chief: We Need a Range of Different Alternative Fuels

by Ship & Bunker News Team
Thursday December 30, 2021

Singapore will need a range of different alternative fuels to become available to allow ships calling there to cut their emissions, according to the head of the city-state's new maritime decarbonisation research body.

Responding to a news story pointing out the high quantities of renewable energy needed to produce green ammonia for the shipping industry, Lynn Loo, CEO of Singapore's Global Centre for Marine Decarbonisation, said in a LinkedIn post on Wednesday that ammonia would not be the only solution.

"It's true that ammonia is not the 'be-all and end-all' of green fuels for shipping; it's also true that there remain safety challenges associated with green ammonia as a bunkering fuel," Loo said in the post.

"The future of shipping will likely comprise a heterogeneous portfolio of fuels, of which green ammonia is one.

"It is unrealistic to think that ammonia will be the singular future fuel."

The GCMD launched new research on ammonia as a bunker fuel earlier this year. This study will help to address some of the safety questions around allowing ammonia bunkering around a population-dense area such as Singapore, Loo said.