Institut Teknologi Bandung

The presentation began with an explanation regarding the objective of the decarbonization process, which is to reduce the emission of greenhouse gasses that are responsible for global warming. The earth temperature is expected to increase by 5?C compared to before the industrial age. During the Paris Agreement, the world leaders have set their objective in addressing this issue. Their short-term goal is to stop the increase of carbon emissions, while their long-term goal is to achieve net-zero emissions.

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Currently, a lot of nations are following the NDC protocol of decarbonization which is an accountancy system of carbon reduction. "There are many nations that have implemented an accountancy system for their decarbonization programs to make sure that they achieve a precise and optimal result," explained Andreas. Indonesia has also started to follow this protocol. As an example, currently, Pertamina has reduced its emissions in the fuel production process. This was achieved by increasing energy efficiency, switching to renewable energy, and utilizing carbon capture and storage technology.

One of the main sectors that are targeted for decarbonization is the electric generation sector. Scientifically, electric generation is a combination of chemistry and physical process. "Therefore, our participation as a Chemical Engineering graduate will be very detrimental for this sector," said Andreas. Some of the energy sources that can be utilized to develop and generate renewable electricity are wind power and solar power which are categorized as Variable Renewable Energy (VRE).

Not only increase its value, but the chemical engineer role also includes increasing the efficiency of large-scale electricity generation and storage, because one of the main obstacles in dealing with electrical energy is its expensive and difficult storing process. However, on the other hand, the cost of electricity generation from a generator is much more expensive compared to using electricity from the grid.

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Moreover, the decarbonization process in Indonesia is expected to bring various positive contributions. One of the examples is the adjustment to the electricity demand to its efficiency. The Industrial sector is the sector with the highest electricity consumption in Indonesia at 41% and followed by the household sector at 37.45%.

The adoption of renewable energy will contribute to the reduction of electricity demand. "The contribution from the reduction of the demand-side is very important because the portion of the electricity that is produced from the personal generator is low and the new power plants that are being built have better efficiency. Moreover, if the user can easily adjust their electricity load, maybe it will reduce the operational cost, increase efficiency, and lower the emissions," said Andreas.

Reporter: Yoel Enrico Meiliano (Food Engineering, 2020)
Translator: Favian Aldilla R (Civil Engineering, 2019)