Singapore's Equatic-1 plant is expected to use electrolysis technology to remove up to 10 tonnes of CO2 per day from seawater and the atmosphere.
Simulation of the world's largest ocean CO2 removal plant, planned to be built in Singapore. Photo: Equatic
The University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) is partnering with the Singapore National Water Authority and other agencies to build Equatic-1, the world's largest ocean CO2 removal plant, New Atlas reported on February 29. The plant is expected to remove 3,650 tons of CO2 per year while producing 105 tons of carbon-negative hydrogen.
The Equatic-1 project follows the successful deployment of two pilot systems to remove CO2 from the sea in Los Angeles and Singapore in 2023. This will be a full-scale demonstration plant at a cost of about $20 million.
The plant’s process uses electrolysis, passing an electric current through seawater from nearby desalination plants. This creates chemical reactions that break down the water into hydrogen and oxygen, while safely storing dissolved CO2 and atmospheric CO2 in solid magnesium and calcium-based materials for at least 10,000 years. The process boosts the ocean’s natural ability to store CO2 by removing dissolved CO2, allowing the ocean to absorb more greenhouse gases.
A team of researchers and experts from the Institute for Carbon Management (ICM) and UCLA startup Equatic will head to a research and development facility in Tuas, west of Singapore, to begin building the world's largest ocean CO2 removal plant in the next 18 months.
Equatic-1 is planned to be built in two phases, with the first phase starting in March, aiming to remove one ton of CO2 per day by the end of 2024. The installation of nine additional modules will mark the completion of phase two in early 2025. With 10 modules in operation, Equatic-1 is expected to remove 10 tons of CO2 per day from seawater and the atmosphere.
The Singapore pilot plant was deemed a success after removing 0.1 tonnes of CO2 per day, while Equatic-1 will remove 100 times more CO2. In addition, Equatic-1's technology can also simultaneously produce nearly 300 kg of carbon-negative hydrogen per day.
According to the World Bank, global average CO2 emissions were 4.3 tons per capita in 2020, so plants like Equatic-1 could play a key role in helping to address these emissions.
Thu Thao (According to New Atlas )
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