Dehydrogenation demonstration begins for green heavy vehicles

Image: (L-R) Mr Nelson Quek, Regional CEO, Southeast Asia, PSA International; H.E Hiroshi Ishikawa, Ambassador of Japan to Singapore; Prof Lam Khin Yong, Vice President (Industry), NTU Singapore; Mr Daiki Kasygahara, Senior VP, Chiyoda Corporation, at the SPERA dehydrogenation plant. (Credit: PSA Singapore)

NTU Singapore, PSA Singapore (PSA) and Japan’s Chiyoda Corporation (Chiyoda) have begun testing how hydrogen can be transported and stored as methylcyclohexane (MCH) , a liquid form at ambient temperature and pressure, before gaseous hydrogen is extracted from MCH to be used as a clean fuel for horizontal transportation in the port.

As part of this collaboration and trial, PSA has built and operationalised the first hydrogen refuelling station and provided a hydrogen fuel cell electric prime mover at Pasir Panjang Terminal in Singapore.

The testbed follows successful laboratory proof-of-concept (PoC) experiments led by NTU to enable the efficient and economical transport of hydrogen, which can in turn contribute to the expansion of global hydrogen supply chains.

Hydrogen fuel cells, a promising technology for green energy, produce electricity by a reaction of hydrogen and oxygen that leaves behind only water and heat as by-products. As Singapore has no natural resources, it is reliant on importing hydrogen that can be transported in liquid form through liquid organic hydrogen carriers (LOHC), which can be used for long-term storage and long-distance transportation of hydrogen under ambient condition.

The trial at PSA’s Pasir Panjang Terminal is scheduled to run until mid-2025. It aims to validate how transported LOHC can be stored at an industrial setting, and subsequently dehydrogenated. The extracted hydrogen can be used as a fuel for refuelling stations on-site.