Singapore Reimagines Jurong Island as a Global Low-Carbon Testbed as it Celebrates its 25th Anniversary – CleanTechnica

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Jurong Island is Singapore’s flagship energy and chemicals hub. And it is marking its 25th anniversary with a sweeping set of initiatives designed to reposition the island for a low-carbon future. Why is this important to CleanTechnica readers? Simply because despite all our desire for renewable energy, the path leading to that is to “defossil-fuelize” ourselves. And Jurong Island is a grounded and well thought of approach.

CleanTechnica visited Jurong Island in April 2024 and saw how the reclaimed island once defined by petrochemicals and refining is now being reimagined as one of Asia’s most ambitious testbeds for decarbonization technologies — including hydrogen, ammonia, microgrids, sustainable data centers, and advanced specialty-chemicals production.

Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong, speaking at the Jurong Island 25th Anniversary Dinner, witnessed the signing of six new partnerships involving global companies, government agencies, universities, and climate-tech solution providers. The agreements reflect Singapore’s effort to turn an industrial zone built for the fossil-fuel age into a proving ground for climate-aligned manufacturing.

A shift from hydrocarbons to higher-value, lower-carbon industries

When Jurong Island officially opened in 2000 after a massive land-reclamation program, Singapore’s goal was clear: anchor multinational petrochemical companies and build an integrated chemicals value chain. The model worked. Over 100 global firms now operate on the island, and the energy and chemicals industry remains a cornerstone of Singapore’s manufacturing sector.

But the global energy landscape is changing. Petrochemical demand is under pressure, plastics are facing regulation, and industrial emissions are coming under increasingly strict scrutiny. Singapore’s response is to pivot the island toward specialty chemicals, sustainable materials, and next-generation fuels — sectors with higher value and lower carbon intensity.

According to JTC and the Economic Development Board, specialty-chemicals investments in manufacturing and R&D are expected to deliver more than 1,000 new jobs. Meanwhile, nearly 300 hectares have been designated for new-energy infrastructure — including hydrogen production, ammonia storage and handling, sustainable aviation fuel pathways, and advanced battery systems.

For a country with limited land, devoting this much space to next-generation energy is a signal: Singapore sees Jurong Island not just as an industrial district, but as a platform for its national energy transition.

Testbeds as a competitive advantage

Three of the newly announced partnerships center on experimental platforms that allow companies to prove, validate, and scale low-carbon technologies under real operating conditions.

The Sustainable Tropical Data Center Testbed is among the most notable. JTC and the National University of Singapore are preparing to launch Phase 2 of the testbed, located directly on Jurong Island. With AI workloads straining power grids worldwide, Singapore is planning a 700-MW low-carbon data center park on the island. The testbed will allow operators to pilot immersion cooling, direct-chip cooling, smart energy-management systems, and AI-optimized workload distribution — all critical for reducing heat and energy use in a tropical environment.

Another major effort is A*STAR’s Low Carbon Technology Translational Testbed (LCT3), developed with Surbana Jurong. LCT3 will provide a turnkey environment for piloting industrial decarbonization solutions — from carbon-capture systems to low-emission thermal processes — with the engineering support needed to move from experimentation to commercial deployment.

Singapore is also planning a renewable-energy microgrid testbed in collaboration with Keppel. This system will explore advanced demand-response controls as well as thermal-energy networks capable of redistributing cooling loads across multiple industrial facilities — an approach that could reduce overall electricity demand significantly.

Hydrogen is the spotlight

Aster announced one of the most significant industrial investments: a SG$195 million (US$150 million) hydrogen-ready integrated gas turbine for its Jurong Island facility. The turbine will allow Aster to generate its own low-carbon electricity and export surplus to Singapore’s national grid.

Aster also signed an MOU with Air Liquide to explore producing low-carbon hydrogen using auto-thermal reforming (ATR) paired with carbon capture. ATR is one of the few commercially viable pathways capable of achieving high capture rates — a key requirement if hydrogen is to play a meaningful role in Singapore’s energy system.

Singapore’s National Hydrogen Strategy identifies hydrogen and hydrogen-derived fuels as long-term options for power generation, heavy industry, aviation, and maritime bunkering. Domestic production will not replace imports, but it could become an important complement, especially for industrial users on Jurong Island.

Startups, talent needed in industrial decarbonization

In a move that differentiates Jurong Island from traditional industrial parks, JTC is partnering with Third Derivative (D3), a global climate-tech accelerator supported by the Rocky Mountain Institute. The collaboration will connect more than 280 clean-tech startups with large industrial players on Jurong Island.

For startups developing technologies that need industrial-scale testing, access to Jurong Island’s infrastructure could be transformative. For industry players, the partnership creates a pipeline of early-stage innovation that can be tested and adapted quickly.

Singapore’s strategy recognizes that new infrastructure is only as effective as the workforce that operates it. JTC and NUS are co-developing training modules, internships, and a potential specialization in industrial decarbonization and sustainable digital infrastructure to prepare future engineers and technicians.

Advario Singapore will work with Workforce Singapore to redesign roles and upskill 150 employees for handling emerging fuels such as ammonia — a critical capability as global shipping lines explore ammonia-powered propulsion.

A new blueprint for industrial regions worldwide

As older energy and chemicals hubs in the United States, Europe, and Asia grapple with decarbonization, Singapore is turning Jurong Island into a showcase of what a coordinated industrial transition can look like. Singapore is also looking at nuclear energy in its mix, because currently it generates 95% of its electricity from natural gas. And less than 3% of its energy comes from renewable source, particularly solar. The island nation is however, actively expanding its solar capacity and plans to import wind energy from Vietnam, solar from Vietnam and hydropower from Malaysia.

JTC chief executive Jacqueline Poh summarized the approach: “Strategic collaboration across the ecosystem is essential to accelerating the transformation we envision for Jurong Island.”