Seatrium Ltd has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with Karpowership, the global leader in floating power solutions, to pursue a joint venture aimed at developing floating power and infrastructure solutions in Singapore, with the potential to extend their co-operation to the wider Southeast Asia market.
Continuing a long-standing strategic relationship, the two companies intend to create an integrated platform combining infrastructure development, financing, engineering, construction and operations. The collaboration brings together Seatrium’s offshore engineering, procurement and construction and systems integration capabilities with Karpowership’s expertise in developing and operating floating power and digital infrastructure, alongside its experience in delivering behind-the-meter power solutions for ‘super intelligence’.
The MoU establishes a framework jointly to develop rapidly deployable power and infrastructure solutions in Singapore, which may include Powerships, floating data centres, turbine-based or hybrid vessels and floating nuclear solutions. The partners share a longer-term ambition to bolster Singapore’s position to serve as a resilient regional hub for rapidly deployable energy and digital infrastructure solutions.
The two companies have committed to progressing discussions towards the formation of a joint venture, subject to the negotiation and execution of definitive agreements and the necessary approvals.
Chris Ong, Seatrium CEO, said: “Building on our long-standing strategic relationship with Karpowership, we aim to strengthen Singapore’s status as a hub for next-generation floating energy and digital infrastructure, using the best-available technologies, including hydrogen-ready power generation. Seatrium’s offshore engineering heritage, systems integration capabilities and advanced facilities in Singapore provide a strong foundation for this ambition, supporting domestic needs and opportunities across Southeast Asia.”
Orhan Remzi Karadeniz, Karpowership CEO, said, “Karpowership has pioneered floating power infrastructure worldwide … and its decades-long relationships with OEMs and technology partners, including Seatrium, now extend to a global network of commercial partnerships, including with hyperscalers. These relationships position Karpowership as a go-to provider of integrated infrastructure solutions at pace and scale.”
Today, Singapore remains heavily reliant on imported natural gas, which accounts for approximately 95% of its electricity generation, according to the Energy Market Authority (EMA). Continued disruptions to global fuel supplies have reinforced the need for diversifying energy sources and strengthening the resilience of Singapore’s electricity system. At the same time, EMA estimates that Singapore’s peak electricity demand is projected to grow between 2.4% and 4.8% annually to reach up to 11.4 GW by 2031, driven in part by transport electrification and the expansion of energy-intensive industries on the island, including semiconductor manufacturing and data centres.
Across Southeast Asia, the growth of digital industries has also led to increased infrastructure requirements. According to the 9th ‘ASEAN Energy Outlook’, 20% of ASEAN’s projected electricity demand growth in the next five years will be attributable to data centres. This, compounded with structural drivers of industrialisation and urbanisation, emphasise the need for reliable power to support industrial activity and other energy-intensive facilities. Against this backdrop, floating power infrastructure could provide additional options to enhance supply security, including through the rapid deployment of generation capacity, contingency power provision and support for critical infrastructure, including data centres.
