DRAWING VALUABLE LESSONS
Last Thursday (Oct 30), top energy leaders from Singapore and Sweden met at a forum here to discuss topics ranging from hydrogen and clean fuels to emerging energy technologies.
Both countries have been stepping up collaboration on clean energy technologies and regional energy connectivity through a series of high-level exchanges this year. The efforts build on a memorandum of understanding on energy cooperation signed last November.
Emphasising innovation’s key role in the energy transition, Busch voiced optimism about continued exchanges between Singapore and Sweden.
Analysts said Singapore, which largely relies on fossil fuels and is exploring nuclear energy technologies, could gain deeper insights from Sweden’s approach to regional energy trade and innovation.
David Broadstock, a partner at economic consultancy The Lantau Group, said Singapore is surrounded by countries it must collaborate with for energy trade.
“By looking towards the experience in Europe, not just from Sweden … it will be possible for Singapore to learn much more about how that type of practice can be effective,” he added.
Singapore has been making steady progress towards diversifying its energy mix.
While its conditions differ from Sweden’s, Broadstock noted that the Scandinavian country’s long-standing experience with conventional reactors and its readiness to embrace newer nuclear technologies offer valuable lessons.
“The older technologies are very large in scale and they were prone to some security and risks that were exposed,” he added.
“But these new small modular reactors, they are much easier to place, they are much more secure and there are less safety concerns to be thinking about.”
Source: CNA
