Members ready with vessels to transport CO2 - Danish Shipping

“The climate challenge transcends borders, and it is crucial that we put in place solutions for transport of CO2 across national borders,” Norwegian energy minister, Terje Aasland said.

PHOTO: Carbon capture transport overview. Global CCS Institute

Denmark, Belgium and the Netherlands have partnered with Norway and Sweden for cross-border transport and storage of captured carbon dioxide (CO2).

Shipping can play a pivotal role in the large-scale transport of CO2, industry experts claim. Shipping offers “safe, reliable and flexible transportation well-suited to shorter distances and low to medium volumes,” according to Erik Mathias Sørhaug, DNV’s business development director CO2 shipping.

“New agreements with Norway and Sweden now enable the transport of CO2 across Scandinavia for underground storage,” Danish Shipping, the trade group for shipping firms in Denmark stated.

“At Danish Shipping, we have members ready with the ships that will help transport CO2. All this can help make Denmark an important European CO2 hub,” Jacob K. Clasen, deputy chief executive of Danish Shipping added.

Growing importance of CCS

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is expected to play a crucial role in shipping sector’s green dreams.

The production of blue marine fuels relies heavily on CCS. Blue fuels, such as blue hydrogen or hydrogen derivatives, are derived from natural gas, but they are produced by combining CCS technologies during the production process to minimise carbon emissions.

Since natural gas is the primary feedstock for these fuels, there is a potential for upstream emissions, including fugitive methane emissions during natural gas production. But combustion of these fuels produces significantly lesser CO2 emissions when compared to fossil-based fuels, Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping (MMMCZCS) said.

Maritime and energy experts including DNV, Lloyd’s Register, MMMCZCS and the International Energy Agency (IEA) have indicated that blue ammonia could eventually emerge as one of the leading candidates to support the shipping sector's net zero ambitions.

Blue methanol can reduce well-to-wake emissions by 27% and blue ammonia can reduce well-to-wake emissions by 57% when compared with VLSFO, classification society American Bureau of Shipping estimates.

Shipping experts like DNV also support the use of onboard carbon capture to reduce vessel emissions in the future.

PHOTO: Northern Lights CO2 receiving terminal in Oygarden in western Norway. Northern Lights

CO2 captured from vessel emissions or during blue fuel production can be permanently stored deep underground. A blend of biogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) and green hydrogen can also be used to produce potential zero-emission marine fuels like e-methanol. Biogenic CO2 is typically captured through bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) or through direct air capture (DAC).

"Norway has great potential to store CO2 and I am pleased that other countries will store CO2 in Norwegian storage sites,” Norway’s Aasland said.

“Sweden has a great potential för BECCS and we already have projects underway,” Swedish environment minister Romina Pourmokhtari said.

"When it comes to capturing and storing CO2 underground, Denmark is right at the forefront,” Danish Shipping’s Clasen said.

Gearing up to transport CO2

A number of global shipping companies are also working to build ships capable of transporting large amounts of captured CO2.

Northern Lights is developing cross-border CO2 transport and storage infrastructure to meet Europe's growing carbon capture and storage demand.

A Japanese alliance including is studying the logistics and costs of transporting LCO2 on vessels for a carbon capture and storage project off Kyushu in southwest Japan. The alliance includes companies like Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL), ENEOS and Nippon Yūsen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK Line).

Malaysia's MISC and South Korea's Samsung Heavy Industries’ (SHI) prototype of a floating carbon storage and injection unit has received DNV’s approval in principle. It will have a CO2 storage capacity of 100,000 cbm (187,000 mt) and a CO2 injection capacity of around 5 million mt/year. SHI is also developing other carbon capture and storage concepts, including CO2 carriers.

By Konica Bhatt

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