APIC ’23: Singapore actively working on low-carbon options – SCIC chair

NEW DELHI (ICIS)–Singapore is actively researching and financing low-carbon options to meet its sustainability targets, with the energy and chemical sector set to remain a key pillar in advancing the country’s economy, the chairman of the Singapore Chemical Industry Conference (SCIC) said on Friday.

Singapore has established a goal of increasing local solar energy production fourfold by 2025, Henri Nejade told delegates of the Asia Petrochemical Industry Conference (APIC) in New Delhi, India.

In addition to solar energy, other options being looked at include carbon capture, utilization, storage technologies, and alternative energy and energy carriers such as methanol, ammonia and hydrogen, he said.

Nejade in his speech cited Shell’s construction of a new pyrolysis oil upgrader unit at its Singapore site as an example.

The 50,000 tonne/year facility is slated to start production at Shell’s manufacturing site on Pulau Bukom this year and is set to be the largest of its kind in Asia and the company’s first globally.

“Pyrolysis is regarded as a viable approach for transforming plastic waste into valuable chemicals, offering a potential solution to the issue of plastic waste,” Nejade said.

“Additionally, this exemplifies the increase in movement towards a circular economy, where waste is viewed as a reusable and recyclable resource rather than something to be discarded,” he said.

The APIC runs on 18-19 May.