Carbon capture and storage |
Transporting carbon: steering a course to a sustainable future
The global shipping industry remains at the forefront of transporting CO2 What are the challenges presented by CO2
; however, it is far from plain sailing. transportation? How can we navigate a path forward? Dimitrios Bardakos Global Carbon Leader at the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS)
The International Energy Agency (IEA) has heralded carbon capture, utilisation, and storage (CCUS) as a key enabler of emission reduction globally, representing a significant growth opportunity for the global shipping sector, especially for early movers. According to recent analysis, CCUS uptake1
needs to grow 120 times
by 2050 for all countries to achieve their net zero commitments. But despite this potential, issues around CO2
transportation persist. Pipelines vs shipping
For more than 50 years, pipelines on the seabed have been used to transport oil successfully, and this remains an option for CO2 In our recent whitepaper, CO2 LCO2
transportation. impurities and
carrier design: practical considerations, we estimated that nearly 360 000 km of pipelines may be required to transport the CO2
captured
from industrial processes by 2050. Since many pipelines are still required for use in the oil and gas industry, they alone won’t meet demand. For example, the USA would need to construct somewhere between 17 700 and 37 000 km of additional CO2
pipelines before 2050.
Furthermore, terminal facilities will need to be built which connect land to subsea pipelines or to ships. Subsea pipeline and termination manifolds, as well as riser connections to fixed or floating offshore platforms, are already being studied as viable options, with trials underway. When it comes to transporting CO2 there are many considerations. The CO2
in pipelines, must
be set at a supercritical pressure of 73.8 bar and temperature of 31.1° C. In addition, constructing pipelines with the required temperature and pressure characteristics, using materials that avoid corrosion, pitting or cracking, will be necessary, taking into account the content of the CO2
stream
(eg, accompanying water, nitrogen, hydrocarbons, oxygen, sulphur, and sulphides).
Although the use of pipelines in the energy sector is well established, they require a continuous flow of compressed gas, and their user costs are highly dependent on distance. Therefore, the shipping industry is increasingly
1
being looked at as the most viable solution for safely transporting CO2
volumes are relatively low. In fact, transporting CO2
, particularly when by ship has been
labelled essential by the European Commission’s EU Taxonomy for Sustainable Activities2 as the EU Emissions Tading System (EU ETS)3 in pipelines requires
, as well .
While transporting CO2
supercritical conditions to be met, shipping it is simpler as it can be in liquefied form (LCO2
transported in ). This
means it can be shipped at varying temperatures and pressures, and a ship can take approximately 1/500th of the volume of CO2
pipeline alternatives.
The existing fleet in operation that meets the criteria for LCO2
transportation is limited to
only four carriers. They are currently serving the food and beverage industry at small capacities (~1700 tons CO2
), and operating pressures in
the range of 15-19 bar(a). There are currently two ships that can transport CO2
at the
pressure level of 1318 bar(g). The possibility of transporting CO2
in cryogenic
conditions is being investigated. However, currently no ship can transport CO2
in the pressure range
of 6-8 bar(g). Interestingly, joint industry projects, like that of ECOLOG, Hanwha Ocean, Babcock LGE, and the American Bureau of Shipping, are exploring this as a workable solution. Through the
project, approval in principle has been issued for a low-pressure, 40 000 cbm LCO2
carrier.
ABS has recently issued approval in principle to Knutsen NYK Carbon Carriers (KNCC) for its novel design of a 40 000 cbm LCO2 A first in the industry, the LCO2
carrier. -EP carrier
at near ambient temperatures and under elevated pressure using a modular approach, allowing less cooling and potentially use of larger carriers for transport. ABS completed design reviews based on class and statutory requirements.
concept from KNCC aims to transport and store LCO2
Trials and tribulations of shipping Unlike onshore CO2
handling systems and
transportation by pipelines, there is a lack of engineering data available on shipping CO2
creates many challenges.
The demand for robust shipping infrastructure to allow the CCUS industry to mature, creates significant economic potential for the shipping industry, while supporting net zero targets. However, companies need to be aware that to capitalise on the opportunity, they need to invest and build dedicated LCO2
carriers to support
the transportation of extensive volumes of CO2 captured.
Currently, there are no standards for shipping CO2
https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/oil-and-gas/our-insights/scaling-the-ccus-industry-to-achieve-net-zero-emissions 2 3
28 | June 2025|
www.modernpowersystems.com with impurities as cargo, only . This Visualisation of liquid CO2 carrier. Image: Deltamarin/Ecolog
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