SIEW Thinktank Roundtable I: Advancing the Promise of New Energy Solutions
SIEW Thinktank Roundtable I brought together energy industry stakeholders from the US and Southeast Asia in a lively discussion of the energy strategies, solutions and technologies that can help address climate change. Xiu Li reports
Richard Steffens, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Asia, International Trade Administration, US Department of Commerce, welcomed attendees with an introduction of the US’s commitment to drive global climate ambitions and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Several actions taken include the US joining the Paris Climate Agreement—and a new target to reduce its net greenhouse gas emissions by 50-52% (below 2005 levels) by 2030.
Mr Steffens said that the energy transition is a cohesive effort, and the success of this transformation would depend on private sector leadership to support areas such as cutting-edge research, advanced manufacturing of cleantech equipment and green investment.
He further added that the US and Singapore have recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding implementing the US-Singapore Partnership for Growth and Innovation. The Partnership would deepen collaboration as both parties work together on climate change solutions.
Delivering his opening remarks, Jonathan Goh, Director, External Relations at Energy Market Authority (EMA), emphasised that the partnership between the US and Singapore could foster stronger collaboration on issues such as financing and investment, environmental governance, sustainable development and low carbon solutions.
Mr Goh shared Singapore’s commitment to develop low carbon solutions through a $$49 million low carbon energy research initiative, which was launched in 2020. This year, Singapore will be awarding S$55 million to support 12 research, development and demonstration projects on low carbon energy technology solutions.
Benjamin Gaszynski, Director of Business Development, South-East Asia at Bloom Energy, provided an interesting look at how solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) or electrolyser technology can make an important difference to decarbonisation efforts.
Mr Gaszynski shared that SOFC can produce carbon-free electricity with low resource inputs and boasts a high efficiency rate over its lifetime—the technology can be operated by feeding natural gas (NG) or biogas. It is a particularly interesting technology for countries faced with land constraints, like Singapore, given that SOFC technology has a lower land footprint than solar.
Dan Killoren, Program Leader, Global Innovation Hub, Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) shared the importance of smart grid interoperability standards as the world accelerates towards more distributed energy resources (DERs) deployments. Interoperability would allow devices and systems to communicate seamlessly, and the technology would in turn be able to scale more rapidly, especially as companies move away from highly customised integration solutions.
Douglas Duncan, Senior Manager, Strategic Development at Durapower showcased the latest battery technologies and the wide range of applications, such as heavy vehicles, electric ferries, EV charging units, and residential energy storage systems (ESS). He also shared that ESS can introduce flexibility to the grid and address intermittency issues associated with wind and solar power.
In a panel session moderated by Christian Koschil, Commercial / Digital Attache, U.S. Commercial Service, U.S. Embassy – Singapore, the speakers weighed in on the latest developments in the energy landscape:
- The demand for reliable and affordable energy supply remains a pressing issue, and grid resilience is of paramount importance.
- Nuclear energy has a potential role to play in driving the energy transition across the ASEAN region, given its high energy density and low carbon footprint.
- Public-private partnerships are at the core of the future development of new innovative solutions. Governments and policymakers have a key role to play in catalysing clean technology adoption with policy measures such as carbon taxes and subsidies.
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