Insights

Development of Liquefied Hydrogen (LH2) Supply Infrastructure

Keppel Data Centres Holdings Pte Ltd (Keppel Data Centres), Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. (Kawasaki), Linde Gas Singapore Pte Ltd (Linde), Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd (MOL) and Vopak LNG Holding B.V (Vopak LNG) have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to jointly explore the concept development of a supply infrastructure to bring liquefied hydrogen (LH2) into Singapore to power Keppel’s data centres.

Under this MOU, the five industry partners will jointly study the technical and commercial viability of a LH2 supply chain, including the feasibility of having a production and liquefaction plant and export terminal at the exporting country, transportation via ocean-going tankers, as well as an import terminal, storage units and regasification facilities in Singapore. The study is expected to continue till the end of 2021. At that juncture, the partners will decide on the next phase of their collaboration.

The partners envision that the LH2 supply infrastructure will benefit data centre facilities such as the floating data centre park project in Singapore that Keppel Data Centres is currently pursuing. 

An infographic on the scope of this MOU to explore the development of liuqefied hydrogen supply infrastructure for Keppel's data centres

The Case For Hydrogen 

There is growing interest worldwide in the use of hydrogen as an energy source because its combustion does not emit carbon dioxide. In its liquid state, hydrogen occupies 800 times less volume compared to its gaseous state, allowing for more compact and efficient storage and transportation. As such, LH2 is gaining traction as a compelling clean energy alternative for land-scarce markets. 

However, for hydrogen to truly be a green fuel, it must be produced in a way that does not result in carbon emissions, which would otherwise negate the carbon savings. There are four classifications for hydrogen, currently, most of the hydrogen produced industrially is grey. However, there have been encouraging developments in blue hydrogen, where companies have furthered the advancement of CCS technologies into Carbon Capture, Utilisation, and Sequestration (CCUS) technologies, which explore the use of captured carbon in industrial applications.

The best long-term solution for the data centre industry is to embrace green hydrogen but there are challenges that currently prevent its widespread production and adoption, such as the high cost of renewable energy production and the lack of infrastructure to procure, store and transport hydrogen. Achieving affordable green hydrogen will require long-term coordination and tripartite partnerships between governments, industry players and investors around the world.