This press release was issued by Agency for Science, Technology and Research and the Singapore Economic Development Board.
Singapore today broke ground on the S$62.5 million Low-Carbon Technology Translational Testbed (LCT³), a national facility that will help companies test and scale emerging low-carbon technologies for industrial use. Amogy, IHI Corporation, and Metha8 were announced as its first users, through collaborations spanning carbon utilisation and low-carbon hydrogen. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Energy, Trade and Industry (Trade) Gan Kim Yong officiated the groundbreaking at the inaugural Singapore Industry Decarbonisation Forum.
Bridging the gap from research to industrial deployment
Industrial activities, including manufacturing, account for nearly two-thirds of Singapore’s emissions. Reducing these emissions will require technologies suited to Singapore’s industrial conditions and facilities to test them at larger scale.
Located on Jurong Island and hosted at the A*STAR Institute of Sustainability for Chemicals, Energy and Environment (A*STAR ISCE²), LCT3 will provide modular and configurable facilities to support the development and testing of carbon utilisation and hydrogen technologies under industry-relevant conditions. Companies can access shared infrastructure, utilities, permits and licences to set up pilots, moving faster from technology development to testing and scale-up. It complements JTC’s broader efforts to develop the island as a leading hub for new energy solutions and low-carbon technologies.
First industry collaborations at LCT³
Amogy
A*STAR and Amogy will pilot ammonia-to-hydrogen technology at LCT³, developing lower-cost catalysts and integrating Amogy’s ammonia cracking systems to produce up to one tonne of hydrogen per day. The project will support the commercialisation of new non-noble metal catalysts and generate operating data for the larger-scale deployment of ammonia-based hydrogen and power across Singapore’s industrial and energy sectors.
IHI Corporation
A*STAR and IHI Corporation will test carbon dioxide (CO₂)-to-Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) catalyst technologies at LCT³. The partners will evaluate catalyst performance under industrially relevant conditions, including industrial flow rates, temperatures and pressures, real-world feedstocks, and extended operating durations. The data generated will provide valuable insights into catalyst activity, selectivity, stability and scalability, supporting IHI's efforts to advance the technology towards commercial deployment.
Metha8
A*STAR and Singapore-based start-up Metha8 will scale up an integrated methanol-to-power system. It produces hydrogen through an aqueous alkaline methanol reforming process, while simultaneously capturing pure CO2 as a by-product prior to power generation. Testing at LCT³ will validate its viability under industrially relevant operating conditions and generate the operational data required to support future scale-up and deployment.
Growing industry interest
Beyond these first industry projects, A*STAR is developing collaborations with local and international technology developers, energy companies and industrial partners to test and advance low-carbon technologies at LCT³. These include CERT Systems, Greenlyzer, Obayashi, and RTI International.
“Jurong Island brings together companies with significant industrial decarbonisation needs and a growing base of technology and research capabilities. LCT³ builds on these strengths by giving companies a plug-and-play platform to develop and validate promising technologies for future scale-up and deployment. We welcome the first industry collaborations at LCT³ and look forward to working with more companies to advance low-carbon solutions in Singapore and beyond,” said Mr Lim Wey-Len, Executive Vice President, Singapore Economic Development Board.
“Promising technologies that work in the lab must still prove they can operate reliably under demanding industrial conditions. LCT³ gives researchers and companies the infrastructure and operating environment to do this without building a facility from scratch. With construction underway and our first collaborations in place, we can work with industry to identify which low-carbon solutions can scale for Singapore and beyond,” said Professor Lim Keng Hui, Assistant Chief Executive Officer, Science & Engineering Research Council, A*STAR.
