Air Liquide and Vopak looking into ammonia and hydrogen infrastructure in Singapore

Industrial gas supplier Air Liquide and infrastructure provider Vopak have joined forces to look into the development and operation of infrastructure for ammonia import, cracking, and hydrogen distribution in Singapore.

The companies have formalized their intention through a memorandum of understanding (MoU) under which they will study and explore the joint development of low-carbon ammonia supply chains in Singapore.

This includes the potential development of ammonia cracking facilities, associated ammonia storage and handling infrastructure at Vopak’s Banyan terminal, and the distribution of low-carbon hydrogen through a hydrogen pipeline network.

According to Air Liquide and Vopak, this collaboration aims to support  Singapore’s National Hydrogen Strategy, focusing on driving advanced hydrogen technologies with high commercial readiness to establish low-carbon hydrogen supply chains.

Zhang Xi, Southeast Asia Cluster Vice President, and Managing Director of Air Liquide Singapore, said: “Air Liquide is committed to partnering with industry partners, such as Vopak, to offer innovative and sustainable solutions in support of Singapore’s decarbonisation efforts. Air Liquide’s industrial-scale ammonia (NH3) cracking pilot plant is under construction in Belgium. We are proud to apply our expertise to crack low-carbon ammonia into low-carbon hydrogen, aimed at reducing carbon emissions in industrial basins and hard-to-abate sectors, advancing towards a more sustainable future.”

Rob Boudestijn, President of Vopak Singapore, added: “Hydrogen and ammonia have the potential to significantly contribute to Singapore’s transition towards a low-carbon economy. As Singapore gears up for receiving and handling ammonia for power generation and bunkering, cracking of ammonia into hydrogen presents an additional application to help the industry shift to lower carbon feedstock. We are excited about collaborating with Air Liquide to accelerate the adoption and commercialization of industrial ammonia cracking in Singapore.”

Vopak Singapore is a joint venture (JV) between Royal Vopak (69.5%) and PSA International Pte Ltd (30.5%) that operates five terminals with a combined storage capacity of more than 3 million cubic meters.

The JV’s Banyan terminal is an integrated oil, chemical, and gas hybrid storage terminal with a storage capacity of close to 1.5 million cubic meters. The terminal is strategically located on Jurong Island.

In October 2022, Vopak Singapore said it was contemplating the expansion of its ammonia storage infrastructure for low-carbon power generation and bunker fuels at the Banyan terminal. At the time, the company reported it had completed the conceptual design of the planned expansion and had commenced the quantitative risk assessment study.