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(Photo: Equatic)
The National Water Agency, a subsidiary of the Public Utilities Board of Singapore, along with the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and the American startup Equatic, announced on Feb. 28 a $20 million investment to construct the largest-ever offshore carbon removal facility in Tuas, Singapore. Expected to be operational in 2025, the facility aims to remove 10 tons of carbon dioxide daily. Additionally, the Singapore government is collaborating with energy giants to expand carbon capture and storage technology.
Named Equatic-1, the facility is an extension of a successful pilot project conducted in Los Angeles and Singapore in 2023, with carbon removal capacity 100 times that of the pilot.
The carbon removal technology involves electrolyzing desalinated seawater into "carbon-negative hydrogen" and oxygen, while converting carbon dioxide into solid calcium and magnesium-based substances. This process can store carbon for at least 10,000 years and potentially be used for land restoration, as well as in cement or concrete production. The carbon-negative hydrogen can be utilized as clean energy, with an expected daily output of 300 kilograms.
Dante Simonetti, Equatic’s co-founder, stated, "the pilot plant established in Singapore in 2023 provided crucial performance data, confirming the efficiency of our carbon dioxide removal, hydrogen production rate, and energy requirements in the process."
If successful, Equatic anticipates removing nearly 110,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide annually post-commercialization, equivalent to emissions from 25,000 people. Equatic has already signed agreements to sell carbon credits generated during the process to companies like Boeing.
Singapore aims to achieve net-zero emissions by 2045 and actively seeks new technologies. Global energy giants Exxon Mobil and Shell announced on the March 1 of their formation of the S-Hub group to collaborate with the Singapore government in developing cross-border carbon capture and storage. According to the joint statement, this collaboration targets capturing and storing 250 tons of carbon dioxide annually by the end of 2030.
