Shell Technology Ventures B.V., a corporate venturing arm of petroleum giant Royal Dutch Shell, has announced today an investment in clean energy integrator Sunseap, which is headquartered in Singapore and active in the Asia Pacific solar sector.

Shell’s financial commitment remains undisclosed at this point, but Sunseap Group has confirmed that it has secured a number of utility-scale solar projects across Singapore and Asia Pacific that are likely to be boosted by Shell’s backing. Sunseap has long been a leading proponent of distributed solar projects in the region, boasting a portfolio of 160 MW.

“As part of our collaboration, there are many capabilities and knowledge that we can cross leverage upon to deploy distributed solar generation projects in the Asian markets,” said Sunseap VP for corporate development and finance Camillus Yang. “Sunseap desires to shape a better low carbon future and hopes to collaborate with companies to catalyze the region’s energy transition towards decarbonization.”

Sunseap has revealed bold plans to ramp up its PV footprint beyond Singapore, and is eyeing opportunities in Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, India and the Philippines. The developer has stated that it intends to raise $55 million to support these expansion plans.

Shell, meanwhile, joins the chorus of fossil fuel giants extolling the virtues of solar energy, describing its collaboration with Sunseap as an exciting opportunity to “deliver innovative and affordable renewable energy solutions to meet the needs of customers in the region”.