SINGAPORE: Small modular reactors being looked at to power AI data centres by big tech could one day be deployed in Singapore, the CEO of the Energy Market Authority said on Monday (Oct 21).
Small modular reactors are advanced nuclear reactors that have a power capacity of about a third of the generating capacity of traditional nuclear power reactors.
Singapore has been looking at the use of nuclear energy for some time, Mr Puah Kok Keong told CNA on the sidelines of the Singapore International Energy Week summit.
He noted that about 10 years ago, the government did a feasibility study on nuclear energy, and the conclusion at the time was that the size of conventional nuclear energy reactors would not be suitable for Singapore due to space limitations.
However, technology developers are looking at smaller, safer modular reactors, and it is a space that Singapore is “going to be watching very closely”, he said.
“These have a lot more passive safety designs that will prevent the reactors from a meltdown. Their smaller size also makes them suitable for smaller power systems like Singapore’s,” he said.
While there are no commercially operated small modular reactors yet, Singapore will look into the option when it is on the market, he said.
“Once those are available, we will be quite keen to look at how they are operated, to look at, in more detail, their safety features, their safety issues, and then we make another assessment whether or not those will be suitable for implementation in Singapore,” he said.