There are several solutions to the problem of the increasing density of carbon dioxide in the air. The first is to reduce pollution and the second is to recapture it before it is converted into a solid form. In Singapore, the Equatic-1 plant will be built with the ability to capture 10 tons of carbon dioxide from the air and seawater and at the same time produce 300 kg of zero-carbon hydrogen per day.
Equatic-1 was built after the success of pilot projects carried out in Singapore and Los Angeles last year. The project is a collaboration between the Public Utilities Board (PUB), Singapore's National Research Foundation (NRF), and UCLA's Institute for Carbon Management (ICM). Carbon dioxide in the air and seawater is trapped using electrolysis technology.
After the carbon dioxide is successfully removed, it is stored in the solids of calcium and magnesium. According to researchers, in solid form this carbon dioxide can be trapped for up to 10,000 years. Because electrolysis technology is used, hydrogen gas is produced once and instead of throwing it into the atmosphere the plant stores it for use as a sustainable fuel.
The Equatic-1 plant will be built in Tuas at a cost of $20 million (~RM95 million) where the first phase is expected to be operational at the end of 2024. The second phase is expected to be completed in 2025. When fully operational later, as much as 3,650 metric tons of carbon dioxide can be removed from the air as well as the sea and 105 metric tons of zero-carbon hydrogen is produced per year. This also makes Equatic-1 the largest carbon dioxide trapping plant in the world.
In Malaysia, efforts to develop carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) technology have been initiated by PETRONAS and Shell in Sarawak with carbon dioxide stored in former oil wells that are no longer in use.