KUCHING: Deputy Energy and Environmental Sustainability Minister Dr Hazland Abang Hipni recently visited the Chemical Engineering Department of Imperial College London ( ICL) to learn more about the latest research on Carbon Capture and Storage ( CCS).

CCS is set to be future technology for the energy transition, an area that the Sarawak government is actively pushing in line with the ambitions of the state’s Post Covid- 19 Development Strategy 2030.

ICL, through industrial collaboration, has an extensive CCS research programme to answer current and future challenges of CCS, according to a press release.

The Chemical Engineering Department and Petronas Research Sdn Bhd jointly hosted the deputy minister and his delegation.

The visit started with a sharing on the Petronas- ICL collaboration, followed by a tour of the amine- based carbon capture pilot plant showcasing simulated process incidents for undergraduate students to trouble shoot and gain experience operating a plant.

It was aimed at learning troubleshooting techniques and to bring the plant back to stable operations.

The amine- based carbon capture process is an integral step in the CCS process, before the injection and storage of carbon dioxide, to reduce the amount released into the atmosphere and achieve net zero carbon emissions.

A quick visit to the energy lab showcased new non- lithiumbased battery technologies that utilises cheaper readily available material, thus reducing dependency on lithium and cobalt.

After the tour, there was a presentation by Malaysian postgraduate students working on CCS and specialty chemicals, with potential use case to increase the efficiency of carbon storage.

The tour ended with Dr Hazland’s closing remarks indicating interest in collaboration with ICL on CCS and energy transition related research, in particular those that are close to pilot and deployment.