Singapore is set to become home to the world’s most expansive ocean-based carbon dioxide (CO2) removal facility, with construction slated to span the next 18 months. This announcement comes on the heels of successful preliminary trials, as shared by the project’s proponents on Tuesday, February 27.
Pioneering Collaboration for Climate Innovation
The project, named Equatic-1, represents a pioneering $20 million venture involving the collaborative efforts of Singapore’s PUB (the national water agency), the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and Equatic, a startup birthed by UCLA researchers. This venture underscores a significant leap in carbon management technologies, leveraging the ocean’s natural processes to combat climate change.
Strategic Partnerships and Funding
The funding framework for Equatic-1 showcases a partnership model, with contributions from PUB, the National Research Foundation (NRF) of Singapore, and UCLA’s Institute for Carbon Management (ICM). This collaboration stems from the successful deployment and operationalization of two pilot projects in Los Angeles and Singapore throughout 2023.
Capabilities and Expectations
Set to be housed within PUB’s R&D complex in Tuas, Equatic-1 is poised to set a new benchmark in carbon capture efficacy. The facility is designed to extract 10 metric tons of CO2 daily from both seawater and the atmosphere, a substantial increase over the current capacity of 100kg per day at Equatic’s existing Singaporean plant. This significant scale-up in CO2 removal capacity marks a pivotal advancement in environmental preservation efforts, leveraging oceanic resources for a sustainable future.
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