Singapore, as an alternative energy undeveloped country, is exploring new technologies to decarbonize its economy. Dr. Tan See Leng – Second Minister for Trade and Industry, sees the adoption of carbon capture utilization and storage (CCUS) and low-carbon hydrogen as new advanced technologies for reducing CO2 emissions.
Part of Singapore’s enhanced 2030 Nationally Determined Contributions and Long-term Low Emissions Development Strategy is the deployment of those two negative emissions technologies. As Singapore is lacking geological storage locations, it is exploring partnerships with countries and companies for the safe sequestrations of industrial emissions.
The country is also looking into ways to utilize the captured carbon emissions. The recycled CO2 is seen as a resource that could be used to produce reclamation aggregates, building materials, or lower-carbon fuels like kerosene and methanol, useful for the aviation and shipping industries.
“There are a number of companies developing test-beds for use in Singapore and examples of commercial-scale operations in other countries,” according to Dr. Tan See Leng.
Issues Of Carbon Capture And Hydrogen Deployment
However, the Singapore minister also sees the relative nascency of the carbon capture technology as a problem for its mass adoption. Some technologies for capturing emissions and producing hydrogen are considered too expensive for commercial-scale deployment, others remain at lab-scale.
“Low-carbon hydrogen is a key technology for Singapore to decarbonize…However, until CCUS is commercially viable, Singapore cannot produce low-carbon hydrogen at scale,” said Dr. Tan See Leng.
His claims are based on a recent study that showed hydrogen fuel could decarbonize maritime, electricity generation, heavy transportation, and some industrial processes. The high storage and transportation costs though remain engineering obstacles that prevent taking the maximum advantage of the fuel source.
What stays a key driver of deployment is constant innovation and investments poured into the scalability of alternative energy sources. Low-emissions hydrogen and carbon capture utilization and storage could be viable solutions for the emissions-heavy sectors of the world’s economy.
