Powering the Future: Our HSSRP Journey

At this year’s Humanities and Social Sciences Research Programme (HSSRP) Symposium, one of our teams was selected as one of three Symposium Finalists to present at the Main Symposium. Qi Zhi, Ryan and Rui Zhe reflect on their research journey, the ideas behind their project and what they learnt from presenting their work to a wider audience.

Written by: Ang Qi Zhi, Tay Tian Rui Ryan Stanley and Teo Rui Zhe (4i4, 2026)

As the world accelerates towards a low-carbon future, renewable energy has evolved from an environmental choice into a critical component of national security. Under the Singapore Green Plan 2030, Singapore aims to import 6 gigawatts (GW) of low-carbon electricity by 2035, roughly one-third of our projected national energy demand.

However, as a small island state with little land for solar farms, minimal wind potential and no rivers for hydroelectric dams, Singapore cannot decarbonise in isolation. Our sustainable future relies heavily on regional cross-border grid integration. At the heart of this strategy is ASEAN Power Grid (APG) 2.0, an evolving framework aimed at enabling large-scale, multilateral clean energy trade among ASEAN nations.

In our project, titled “Analysing Bargaining Tensions and Resource Nationalism in ASEAN Power Grid 2.0 Through Singapore's Energy Statecraft”, we evaluated how Singapore navigates geopolitical risks across three major regional projects:

1. The Lao-Thailand-Malaysia-Singapore Power Integration Project (LTMS-PIP): the “pathfinder” for multilateral power trading.

2. The Batam-Bintan-Karimun (BBK) Corridor: a 3.4 GW arrangement tied to industrial co-investment in Indonesia.

3. The Singapore-Sarawak Subsea Cable: a 1 GW baseload agreement traversing third-party Indonesian maritime waters.

After months of literature review, policy analysis and constant refinement under expert mentorship, our hard work culminated in a major milestone. We were honoured to be shortlisted among the most commendable papers from a pool of 86 submissions and given the opportunity to present our findings at the HSSRP Symposium on 31 October 2026.

Presenting our work to peers, Teacher-Mentors and Expert-Mentors was both exhilarating and deeply humbling. It challenged us to translate dense theoretical concepts into a clear and engaging narrative for a wider audience.

Our study yielded three key insights:

1. Host and transit states can exercise considerable leverage. Physical chokepoints, regulatory mechanisms and resource nationalism allow them to exert influence independently of market competition.

2. Diversification acts as a deterrent. At the portfolio level, having multiple energy sources gives Singapore credible alternatives, making it harder for any single partner to exercise excessive leverage.

3. Obsolescing bargain risks can be mitigated, but not fully eliminated. Host countries may still renege on agreements or cut supply if they choose to do so. Risk-mitigation mechanisms can only reduce the likelihood of such outcomes.

Beyond the theories and analysis, our HSSRP journey reshaped how we view international relations. We learnt that energy diplomacy is far from a zero-sum game. Instead, it requires countries to transform potential geopolitical friction points into opportunities for regional cooperation on renewable energy projects.

This research would not have been possible without the invaluable guidance of our mentors. We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to Dr Christopher Len, our Expert-Mentor, and Dr Liew Pei Li, our Teacher-Mentor, for their constant encouragement, rigorous feedback and unwavering support throughout the HSSRP journey.

As Southeast Asia enters a new era of clean energy transition, we hope our study can contribute meaningfully to understanding how small states can navigate the shift towards renewable energy through proactive statecraft and collaborative regional diplomacy.

To read more about Qi Zhi, Stanley and Rui Zhe’s research, as well as the two other Hwa Chong projects recognised on the HSSRP List of Quality Projects, explore the 2026 HSSRP publications here.