SINGAPORE – From putting solar panels on reservoirs to importing clean energy from its neighbours, Singapore is relying on existing technologies to cut its carbon emissions, while keeping an eye out for innovative ways to further slash emissions in the long term.

The Government has said it will be boosting research and development in carbon capture and storage (CCS) – technologies that can suck planet-warming carbon dioxide (CO2) from polluting sources and lock it away. 

This can give heavy emitters, such as those in the chemical, industrial and power sectors, a leg-up in the green transition by helping them to decarbonise more effectively, Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean said in Parliament in February.

In March, the Government said that it would be giving around $12 million in grants for research and development in emerging technologies, including coming up with novel ways of capturing CO2 in low concentrations.  

CO2 emissions tend to be released in diluted concentrations, making capture difficult, thus a lot of research is going into developing techniques to capture CO2 in a cost-effective way. 

In addition, Singapore has limited potential to store CO2 locally, given the lack of known suitable underground geological formations, and is talking to its regional partners about shipping CO2 to them for potential storage.

For instance, it has signed a letter of intent with Indonesia to collaborate on a cross-border CCS project which, when finalised, will allow companies in Singapore to ship their carbon to be stored there.

The Government is also working with ExxonMobil and Shell to study the feasibility of aggregating CO2 emissions in Singapore for storage in other countries. 

The industry consortium, known as the S Hub, will also collaborate with regional partners to identify potential CO2 storage sites. 

Malaysia, Australia and Brunei also have strong geological potential for carbon storage, Mr Teo noted in February.  

S Hub’s plan is to develop by 2030 a CCS project that permanently stores at least 2.5 million tonnes of CO2 a year.

CO2 can also be captured and reused in various sectors, such as for the manufacture of carbonated drinks or for creating building materials like concrete.

Capturing and storing these emissions will essentially help Singapore turn Jurong Island into a more sustainable industrial and chemicals hub.

In 2021, the authorities said they wanted Jurong Island to realise at least two million tonnes of carbon capture potential per year by 2030.

Mitigating global greenhouse gas emissions

Experts have said CCS solutions are critical to bring down emissions to net zero globally by 2050.

According to the UN top climate science body – the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) – CCS technologies will be needed to help the world get to net zero.

They are also essential in the fight to limit global warming to 1.5 deg C above pre-industrial levels to stave off the most catastrophic impacts of climate change.

Aside from drastically cutting global greenhouse gas emissions, technologies which help to remove CO2 from the atmosphere will be needed to reach net zero, according to the IPCC report published in 2022. 

There are around 40 operational carbon capture, utilisation and storage projects globally, with about 25 under construction.

More than 300 such projects are in some stage of planning.  

According to global research non-profit organisation World Resources Institute (WRI), around 45 million tonnes of CO2 are being captured around the world – just 0.1 per cent of global emissions. 

For comparison, Singapore’s industrial consortium would capture some 2.5 million tonnes of CO2 a year for storage – that is, less than 5 per cent of the country’s total yearly emissions, which stood at 57.7 million tonnes in 2021. 

An analysis of the latest IPCC report by the WRI found that to limit global warming to 1.5 deg C, CCS solutions could contribute to around 6 per cent of total emissions reductions by 2050.

Roadblocks to scaling up CCS

Despite its importance in helping the world to decarbonise, the technology faces numerous roadblocks that currently hamper its widespread use.  

For one, the cost of doing a CCS project can be very high due to design complexities and the need for customisation at each site or location.

This comes as the price of wind and solar energy has fallen globally over the last decade, making it a cheaper alternative, whereas carbon taxes are not yet high enough to make CCS economically attractive. 

Citing a study commissioned by the National Climate Change Secretariat and the Economic Development Board, Mr Alvin Ee, a research fellow from the NUS Energy Studies Institute, noted that the weighted average cost for capturing carbon from industrial sources in Singapore is around US$85 (S$116) per tonne of CO2.

In addition, the cost of transporting and storing carbon could vary, depending on the mode of transport and the storage location.

For instance, shipping the CO2 may cost an additional US$16 to US$31 per tonne, while injecting the CO2 at a site offshore could cost between US$3 and US$31 per tonne. Currently, the carbon tax stands at $25 per tonne of CO2, which will increase to between $50 and $80 per tonne by 2030.

Once the CO2 has been stored, extensive monitoring will be needed to ensure it does not leak back into the atmosphere in the years to come, said Mr Grant Hauber from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), a US-based think-tank. 

Typically, storage site operators globally will need to set aside performance bonds of up to 50 years, which basically ensures that they put aside sufficient sums of money and resources to address any potential leakage or other emergencies, said Mr Hauber, who is IEEFA’s strategic energy finance adviser for Asia. 

In contrast, regulation in Indonesia requires only up to 10 years of responsibility for carbon storage sites, and has not defined how much money should be provisioned to address leakages, he noted.  

This means that the responsibility for the site will fall back on the Indonesian government after the 10-year period has lapsed, and any CO2 leaks will add to Indonesia’s carbon emissions burden. 

The export of CO2 to countries like Indonesia is in some ways similar to the plastic waste trade, where many countries in the region had to resort to restricting or banning these imports as they were faced with a deluge of waste which could not be recycled, said Mr Hauber. 

Mr Putra Adhiguna, managing director of independent think-tank Energy Shift Institute, said that the import of carbon has some similarities to the plastic waste situation, and could be met with some resistance from environmental groups.

But their concerns could be allayed if the CCS industry can provide strong assurances on the integrity of their processes to ensure no CO2 leaks out.

Before being touted as an answer to climate woes, CCS solutions had been used to recover more oil and gas by pumping CO2 into depleted oil and gas reserves deep underground.

But storing CO2 permanently underground can be more challenging than extracting oil and gas due to greater technical expertise needed to ensure that the chosen storage site has suitable geological features, said Mr Hauber.

Mr Adhiguna cautioned that in South-east Asia particularly, it is important to make a clear distinction between using CCS as a means to support fossil fuel expansion, which could be seen as greenwashing, and CCS as a climate solution. 

For instance, oil giant BP intends to reduce the carbon emissions of its upcoming gas recovery project in Indonesia through the use of CCS, while Malaysia has a similar plan for its Kasawari gas field. 

When asked by The Straits Times whether it would put in place safeguards to ensure that ExxonMobil and Shell do not use CCS for enhanced oil or gas recovery in projects in the region, the Ministry of Trade and Industry reiterated that the Government will “work closely with S Hub to identify sites which allow safe, secure storage of CO2”.