Singapore is set to step up its efforts to develop quality and standards in areas such as greenhouse gas reporting, decarbonisation and renewable energy in the next two to three years.

Among the local standards in the pipeline are a methanol and ammonia bunkering standard, which will cover refuelling, operational and safety requirements for the delivery of both gases. 

A benchmark will also be set for hydrogen refuelling, to support companies in their trial of hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles.

The benchmarks, planned for 2025, are among more than 25 sustainability-related standards and accreditation programmes that Singapore will introduce or revise over the next two years, Enterprise Singapore (EnterpriseSG) said on Friday (29 Sep 2023).

The 25 programmes are expected to benefit more than 1,000 companies, said the government agency’s director-general for quality and excellence, Choy Sauw Kook.

EnterpriseSG will lead this effort as the national standards and accreditation body, with two industry-led entities – the Singapore Standards Council and Singapore Accreditation Council (SAC).

Businesses operating here can expect to be given a leg up as they adopt more sustainable practices and access new opportunities in the green economy, said the agency, which focuses on enterprise development and standards.

The sustainability-related standards and accreditation programmes will include sector-agnostic ones, designed to improve performance in carbon emissions, energy, water efficiency and material management, EnterpriseSG said.

Besides the alternative-fuels standards, benchmarks under development include:

• An electrical-energy storage-systems standard to support the integration of power-intensive and renewable-energy sources, targeted for completion by mid-2024; 
• A series of smart-grid standards, set to be adopted here by 2024, which aim to support the integration of digital technologies related to sustainable-energy management systems; and
• Standards for the decarbonisation and net zero emission targets of harbour craft operating in Singapore, expected to be developed by 2025.

SAC chairman Tan Kai Hoe said the standards are being developed even as the industry segments and sectors related to the green transition are still developing, as it foresees a rapid adoption of these technologies. 

SAC chairman Tan Kai Hoe said the standards are being developed even as the industry segments and sectors related to the green transition are still developing, as it foresees a rapid adoption of these technologies. 

He said: “By the time the industry wants to change, it wants the standards yesterday.

“When artificial intelligence (AI) comes about, AI comes about. Suddenly, everybody wants to have regulations, controls, standards for AI. If you didn’t develop them five years ago, you wouldn’t have it.”

The results of a maritime decarbonisation survey by the Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation and the Boston Consulting Group, released on Friday (29 Sep 2023), showed that industry frontrunners are planning to adopt methanol as early as 2026, and ammonia in 2029.

For now, these frontrunners are stymied by the lack of future fuel supply and bunkering infrastructure; the report noted that 38 per cent cite these supply-side gaps as the top challenge to alternative fuel adoption.

Future fuel infrastructure needs to accommodate the lower energy density of future fuels, since methanol and ammonia have a volumetric energy density that is 2.4 to 2.8 times lower than that of fuel oil, the report noted.

On the international stage, EnterpriseSG said Singapore is leading the development of a standard on design guidelines and recommendations for floating photovoltaic (PV) power plants.

The International Electrotechnical Commission standard, expected to be available by end-2024, will take guidance from Singapore’s technical reference, the agency said.

EnterpriseSG added that this positions the country to be connected and recognised globally as a key player for technological developments on floating solar PV farms.

Technical references, which are issued for industry trials, are fast-tracked standards to address urgent industry demand.

After the trial period, these references, which are typically developed in 12 months, can become a country standard, continue as technical references for further industry trials, or be withdrawn.

EnterpriseSG said Singapore is now active in the development of sustainability standards across 27 international technical committees. Back in 2019, it was involved in only 18 such committees.

Among other international standards Singapore has a hand in are the new ISO standards to guide companies on greenhouse gas emissions reporting, and a new framework to establish carbon neutrality and greenhouse gas-reduction strategies.

EnterpriseSG managing director and chief operating officer Jeffrey Siow said such standards “play a critical role” because the lack of common benchmarks in carbon accounting can lead to inaccurate, incomparable and misleading carbon emissions data.

The developments are part of EnterpriseSG’s efforts under the Singapore Green Plan 2030, the agency noted.

Since the launch of the Green Plan in February 2021, EnterpriseSG has developed 35 sustainability-related standards and accreditation programmes, bumping the number of such programmes up to 108.

More than 50 SAC-accredited testing, inspection and certification companies now operate in Singapore; among them, they have issued more than 1,000 related accredited certificates.
 

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