Underground study to unravel Singapore's clean energy potential

For the first time, an island wide geophysical survey has been conducted to uncover what lies beneath Singapore.

With land in scarce supply and as the nation looks to decarbonise its energy resources, the underground study could unravel the potential for carbon storage and the possibilities of harnessing geothermal energy in the future.

Conducted in 2019 by a team of researchers from the NTU's Earth Observatory of Singapore, the survey's aim was to help researchers understand underground structures and uncover the risk of earthquakes that the country may face.

Another project is to look at developing an underground map of rock formations in Singapore to determine whether technology can be used to take atmospheric CO2 and pump it deep underground for storage.

Seismic imaging of the structures and geological analysis can also help the researchers to evaluate the feasibility of carbon sequestration and estimate the carbon storage capacity, said the team.

It can also yield valuable information on geothermal energy potential, which would be a valuable source of renewable energy for decades.