Norway and Singapore strengthen hydrogen ties

The Norwegian Hydrogen Forum (NHF) and the Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Association of Singapore (HFCAS) have agreed to strengthen collaboration and signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) during a Singaporean delegation visit to Norway.

According to the NHF, the MoU was facilitated by Innovation Norway, the Norwegian government’s agency for innovation and development of Norwegian enterprises and industry home and abroad, and shall be a tool for the exchange of policies and regulatory frameworks necessary to support the interest and use of hydrogen. Moreover, it shall further stimulate bilateral collaboration in industry and research, as well as encourage and support a closer hydrogen partnership between the two countries.

Norway and Singapore have established ambitious climate and energy policies to uphold their commitments in the Paris Agreement and seek to become a low-emission society and achieve net zero emissions by 2050, respectively, NHF said, noting that hydrogen will play a crucial role in this energy transition, both as an energy carrier, fuel for zero-emission transport and as replacement of fossil sources for industrial purposes.

“Singapore has the world’s busiest container transshipment port and is a leading hub for aviation. The island country is central in the development of a global infrastructure for hydrogen and hydrogen-derived fuels such as ammonia. Norway has almost 100 years of experience with industrial hydrogen production and a complete maritime value chain with a global footprint. Both countries have invested heavily in hydrogen research, technology and innovation,” NHF pointed out.

Ingebjørg Telnes Wilhelmsen, Secretary General of the NHF, commented: “The Singaporean hydrogen strategy aims not only to establish a domestic hydrogen value-chain, but also to drive global development by encouraging innovation, technology partnerships, standardisation and certification methodologies. As an important enabler for this strategy, HFCAS is a perfect partner for NHF.”

“This agreement will give our two associations a framework for exchange on important topics such as policy initiatives and market drivers and barriers, but we also hope that it will foster concrete collaboration between stakeholders from politics, industry and research and drive the hydrogen momentum further.”

Noel Chin, President of the HFCAS, added: “With our National Hydrogen Strategy charting the path for Singapore in supporting its decarbonisation plans, this MoU with Norwegian Hydrogen Forum would open the doorways for both countries to promote greater collaboration and partnerships.”

“Norway, having started their hydrogen journey earlier, has all the knowledge and experience that Singapore companies would be able to tap on ranging from technology development, safety standards and competency development. Furthermore, Singapore has emphasised the need for research and development into the hydrogen space and this MoU would encourage greater collaboration between the research institutions to develop solutions.”

HFCAS was formed in 2019 to provide a platform for members to explore partnership and collaboration opportunities in hydrogen and fuel cell-related activities, and NHF, the national members’ association for hydrogen, was founded in 1996. NHF’s members are said to represent the entire hydrogen value chain.

To remind, at the beginning of 2023, HFCAS signed a MoU with the Scottish Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Association (SHFCA) to promote mutually beneficial hydrogen and fuel cell technology, as well as industry exchange and development.

Under the MoU, the organizations committed to identifying and overcoming common technology barriers to the production, distribution, storage and use of hydrogen, to sharing best practices regarding hydrogen and fuel cell codes and regulations, to exchanging collateral such as whitepapers, case studies and reports, as well as to facilitating networking and communications between the SHFCA and the HFCAS via trade missions, conferences, exhibitions, workshops, webinars and/ or meetings.