SINGAPORE—Singapore’s Energy Market Authority (EMA) is expanding its cooperation with the United States on nuclear energy capability building, with plans to sign new agreements with two US organizations.
The EMA is expected to ink cooperation agreements with the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) and the Battelle Memorial Institute on nuclear energy during the 2025 Singapore International Energy Week, Minister-in-charge of Science and Energy and Technology Dr. Tan See Leng announced on Monday.
These new agreements build on the “Agreement for Cooperation Concerning Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy” (123 Agreement) signed in July 2024 and the “Memorandum of Understanding Concerning Strategic Civil Nuclear Cooperation” signed in January 2025 by Singapore and the U.S.
“We are also seriously studying the potential deployment of nuclear energy, especially newer technologies such as small modular reactors,” said Leng.
“Nuclear energy has the potential to be a safe, reliable, and cost-competitive option for Singapore,” he said.
The government is reorganizing to emphasize capability building, with dedicated nuclear energy teams already formed. These include the Nuclear Energy Office within the EMA and the Nuclear Safety Division within the National Environment Agency (NEA).
The cooperation agreements aim to systematically develop capabilities for studying the feasibility of deploying nuclear energy for power generation in Singapore.
The memorandum of understanding (MoU) between EMA and Battelle, an independent, non-profit applied science and technology organization, will focus on nuclear energy capability building, and research and development.
EMA and INL, the US nuclear energy laboratory for advanced nuclear energy, plan to establish a formal Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA). This collaboration will cover studies, technical assessment, and capability building in advanced nuclear energy technologies.
“Singapore is pursuing a range of potential pathways to reduce carbon emissions from power generation,” said Puah Kok Keong, chief executive of EMA.
“This involves studying potential options that would provide us with a diversified portfolio of low-carbon energy sources in future. Through these agreements, we look forward to collaborating with our U.S. partners to strengthen our knowledge and technical expertise in assessing the feasibility of advanced nuclear technologies in meeting Singapore’s energy needs,” said Keong.
EMA is a statutory board under the Singapore Ministry of Trade and Industry.
 is set to sign new agreements with the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) and Battelle Memorial Institute to deepen cooperation with the U.S. on nuclear energy capability building and the study of small modular reactors (SMRs).){kind=link}