Singapore steps up nuclear viability research with new institute and $66m in additional funds

Straits Times

11-07-2025

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The new Singapore Nuclear Research and Safety Institute building was launched on July 11.
SINGAPORE - The Republic's research initiative on nuclear safety is progressing further with a new institute, additional $66 million in funding, and an expanded research scope that will help Singapore better evaluate nuclear power's viability for the city-state.
Such research areas include studying nuclear waste, conducting accident simulations of advanced reactors, expanding on nuclear policy studies and studying the deployment of underground reactors.
The Singapore Nuclear Research and Safety Institute (SNRSI) in NUS was officially launched on July 11 by National Research Foundation chairman Heng Swee Keat.
The institute's predecessor was the Singapore Nuclear Research and Safety Initiative. It did not have its own building, and was housed in the Campus for Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise Tower in NUS.
'As an institute, it will now partner international laboratories to develop expertise in reactor simulation and modelling to analyse the safety of reactor designs,' said Mr Heng.
'This will enable it, over time, to build capabilities to assess aspects of the safety of small modular reactor (SMR) designs and their suitability for domestic deployment,' he added.
SMRs are advanced and compact reactors that can be factory-assembled and installed in dense urban areas.
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They are also known to be safer than traditional, large reactors, but are now mainly still at a research phase.
The initiative was started in 2014 as Singapore's first foray into nuclear research, and had a large focus on nuclear safety and building talent.
For example, the initiative had partnered with Ukraine to study organisms and blood samples from one of the most radioactive places on earth – the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone.
Over 30 scholarships have also been awarded for students to pursue postgraduate studies in areas related to nuclear science and engineering.
'In the decade from 2014, we have invested more than $150 million in initiating research, developing talent and setting up this new building that we are in,' said Mr Heng.
A government study in 2012 had shown that nuclear technologies of that time were unsuitable for deployment in the city-state.
But nuclear technologies have evolved since then to include smaller, safer reactors that could be used in Singapore.
Amid growing international interest in tapping carbon-free nuclear energy, the new SNRSI will expand on studying emerging nuclear technologies, nuclear policy and educating the public about atomic power, which tends to incite fear due to a few high-profile meltdowns.
The $66 million grant by the NRF will help the institute expand work in five areas.
These include safety, nuclear policy, the dispersion of radioactive particles, the impact of radiation on living things, and the rapid detection of elevated levels of radioactivity.
The grant amount was given under the NRF's research, innovation and enterprise 2025 plan, and will last 2.5 years from December 2024.
On deepening international partnerships, NUS president Tan Eng Chye pointed to how the institute has set up a joint lab with the French Authority for Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection on seven joint research projects.
SNRSI aims to 'become an authoritative source of information and advice on policies for the governance of nuclear energy,' it said in a statement.
Mr Heng added that SNRSI has joined the International Atomic Energy Agency's research programme to study and identify viable options to manage used nuclear fuel and waste from different SMR technologies.
'Waste management will likely be a critical factor for public support for domestic nuclear deployment, if and when pursued,' he noted.
Features of the new building
Built in the middle of a small, forested area along King George's Park, the new five-storey institute has a curved facade to avoid felling two large trees next to it.
The institute is curved because it wanted to protect the two large trees next to it.
PHOTO: SNRSI
Highly radioactive activities and equipment that release radiation are housed in the basement.
Those equipment, called irradiators, are used to send pulses of radiation to zebrafish embryos in biological studies, or test the accuracy of radiation detection meters used in local industries.
The screen shows zebrafish embryos exposed to radiation.
PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO
The testing of devices is done by NEA's irradiator at its secondary standards dosimetry laboratory in the building. The lab provides radiation protection services for some 14,000 people islandwide who are exposed to radiation in their jobs.
As a precaution, the institute's irradiators are enclosed in 60cm-thick bunker-style concrete walls to block radiation, while air filtration units remove potentially radioactive particles from the fume hood exhaust.
NEA's irradiator (background) is shielded by walls 60cm thick.
PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO
And due to the terrain on which the building stands, the irradiators point to the soil under the slope of Kent Ridge, and this further protects people in the building.
The door to NEA's secondary standards dosimetry laboratory remains secure.
PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO
Singapore has not made a decision to go nuclear.
But since it has limited access to renewable energy, nuclear is among various low-carbon sources that the country is looking into while keeping in mind energy security, affordability and carbon footprint.
Dr Christelle Chua, SNSRI senior research scientist, showing the X-Ray irradiator which can deliver both high and low dose rates.
PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO
Prime Minister Lawrence Wong had in his Budget speech in February made clear that Singapore will study the potential deployment of nuclear power here.
The country's stance on the controversial power source has been shifting since 2022. That year, a report by the Energy Market Authority mentioned that emerging technology, including nuclear and geothermal, could potentially supply around 10 per cent of Singapore's energy needs by 2050.
Mr Heng noted that while no Asean countries have an operational nuclear plant, some have announced plans for deployment, such as the Philippines by the early 2030s and Indonesia by 2040.
'Capability building will help us understand the implications of nuclear developments in the region and ensure we are prepared if our neighbours choose to deploy nuclear energy,' he said.
NEA said in a statement: '(The national) monitoring system serves as a crucial safeguard against transboundary pollution, particularly significant amid the growing interest in nuclear energy programmes across the region.'
The NEA manages a suite of tools to keep track of ambient radiation levels, including around 40 radiation monitoring stations for air and water islandwide. In March, ST reported that
Singapore's coastal monitoring network will be upgraded to include sensors that can measure radioactivity in the waters.
The agency is also working with other countries in the region to set up a South-east Asian early warning network with sensors deployed across the countries and data shared in the event of an emergency.
Research areas
One of SNRSI's research pillars, which looks into the dispersion of radioactive particles, will further help with monitoring efforts.
The institute has a team that models how radioactive pollutants might disperse through the atmosphere or water, within an urban environment to over 2,000km.
A showcase of NEA's network of radiation sensors and quick deployment unit (middle).
PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO
Some levels of radiation exists all around us, and the amount of natural radiation a person in Singapore is exposed to over 24 hours is 0.0024 millisieverts, according to NEA's website. An airline passenger is exposed to 0.19 millisieverts of radiation on a long flight between Tokyo and New York.
A high dose of 1,000 millisieverts will cause radiation poisoning – a life-threatening condition that includes vomiting, nausea and rectal bleeding.
SNRSI has also been doing computer modelling to study the safety of advanced technologies such as SMRs.
Dr Than Yan Ren, a SNRSI researcher showing a model of a type of SMR called the high-temperature gas-cooled reactor.
PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO
The researchers create computer software to model virtual replicas of existing SMRs, and run accident scenarios to assess their risks and what could happen during a meltdown.
In the future, SNRSI is planning to develop a nuclear reactor simulator for research.
SNRSI will next study the deployment of SMRs underground to optimise land use here, and reduce the risk of any unlikely radioactive leak.
On human health, while the dangers of high levels of radiation are well-known, how the body responds to continuous low-dose radiation is an area that SNRSI wants to contribute to.
While studying human cells that are exposed to low doses of cesium – a radioactive substance – over a couple months, the researchers found that some of the cells had damaged DNA, which the cells were able to repair on their own.
The cells were exposed to one millisievert of radiation per hour - or about 400 times the background radiation experienced by a person in Singapore in one day.
Like an immune boost, those cells were later able to repair their DNA better than unexposed cells when fired with higher doses of radiation. SNRSI will study this further.
Mr Heng added that the institute will ramp up research on the effects of low-dose radiation on humans by 'studying the impact on our local population with our unique ethnic and geographical landscape'.
Contaminated samples delivered by IAEA over the years.
ST PHOTO: SHABANA BEGUM
The institute currently has around 50 experts who specialise in nuclear engineering, physics, chemistry, biology, material science, law and policy studies.
With talent building close to its heart, SNRSI plans to have 100 nuclear experts in its building by 2030.