Carbon capture corridors: The missing link?

Carbon capture corridors: The missing link?

Carbon capture is a viable option to lower GHG emissions, but the infrastructure to transport and store the CO2 is lacking. Solving this problem could involve funding carbon capture corridors.

To meet IMO targets of a 20% GHG emission reduction by 2030 and 70% by 2040, immediate action is crucial, focusing on energy efficiency measures, as highlighted by DNV’s Maritime Forecast to 2050. With 93% of the global fleet still reliant on fossil fuels and alternative fuel infrastructure underdeveloped, DNV estimates that operational and technical energy-efficiency measures could reduce fuel consumption by 4% to 16%, thereby achieving the targeted emissions reductions.

Onboard Carbon Capture (OCC) is identified as a key “low-hanging fruit” that can help achieve these goals until alternative fuels gain more traction, potentially enabling various ship types to serve as CO2 carriers and paving the way for the creation of carbon capture corridors.

Carbon capture corridors would serve as dedicated routes and networks designed for the transportation and storage of captured CO2. They would facilitate the movement of CO2 from the point of capture, such as industrial facilities or ships, to storage sites or utilisation facilities. Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) can include a combination of pipelines, shipping routes, and storage locations.

“Onboard carbon capture has the potential to become the most cost-effective way of decarbonising shipping. For this solution to have a big impact, the CCS value chain will have to be developed. Ship-specific infrastructure must be built, and regulations adopted,” said Eirik Ovrum, Principal Consultant and lead author of the Maritime Forecast to 2050, while presenting the report at SMM in Hamburg.

Ovrum argues that for ports to be able to receive and transmit large amounts of CO2, funding could come from regulation and revenue streams. “We could have green corridors for CCS,” he says. “If there is a potential levy from CO2, revenue from that should be used to develop CCS infrastructure for shipping.”

Projects underway

On the technology front, the first OCC systems are already being installed by companies like Dutch Value Maritime. The company’s Filtree exhaust gas cleaning system (EGCS), which features an integrated carbon capture unit, was first installed in 2021 on a container ship owned by Visser Shipping and operated by X-Press Feeders. The system captures CO2 from the vessel’s exhaust and stores it in onboard tanks for discharge onshore. The ABS-verified solution has since been adopted by JR Shipping, Samskip, X-Press Feeders, Purus Maritime, and ForestWave.

Liner companies, including Evergreen and HMM, are also trialling carbon capture technologies. In March 2024, Evergreen installed an OCC system, developed by Qiyao Environmental Protection, on its Neopanamax vessel, Ever Top. Meanwhile, HMM announced in July 2024 the installation of an OCC on its vessel HMM Mongla in partnership with Samsung Heavy Industries and PANASIA.

Transport and storage

Several demonstration projects are underway to showcase different aspects of the carbon capture and transport supply chain.

Northern Lights, a Norwegian joint venture by Equinor, Shell, and TotalEnergies, is advancing the development of the world’s first open-source CO2 transport and storage infrastructure. The project will have a capacity of 1.5mt of CO2 annually in the first phase.

Longship includes capturing CO2 from industrial sources in the Oslo-fjord region and shipping liquid CO2 to an onshore terminal on the Norwegian west coast. From there, the CO2 will be transported by pipeline to a permanent subsea storage location in the North Sea. Northern Lights has ordered three 7,500 cubic meter LNG-powered, wind-assisted, liquified CO2 carriers for the project. The first two vessels are scheduled to start operations this year.

The role of ports

A recent study by the Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation (GCMD), Lloyd’s Register, and ARUP points to low port readiness as a key barrier to the adoption of OCC systems. Current port facilities are primarily designed for high purity food-grade CO2 and are not suitable for onboard captured CO2. Furthermore, many of the larger volume CO2 infrastructure projects are still in the concept phase.

Some ports are taking the lead. The most recent milestone, reported in early September, saw the Port of Rotterdam begin construction on the Porthos CCS project, which will transport CO2 from local industries to depleted gas fields beneath the North Sea. Customers, including Shell, ExxonMobil, Air Liquide, and Air Products, will supply CO2 to an open-access pipeline through the port area. Porthos has secured €102 million from the Connecting Europe Facility and is expected to be operational by 2026.

Rotterdam is not the only example. It is joined by several Northern European ports actively engaged in carbon storage and capture projects, including Antwerp, Gothenburg, Gdansk, Stockholm Norvik Port, Dunkirk, and Wilhelmshaven, positioning them as prime candidates for establishing carbon capture corridors within the shipping industry.

As these ports develop receiving facilities for CO2, they also position themselves as potential hubs for the production of alternative fuels, such as eMethanol, ammonia and hydrogen.

“My hope for 2025 is that we will also talk about carbon capture corridors, and try to get some of those into a conceptual stage. I believe that would be ambitious but important,” said Knut Orbeck Nilssen, CEO of DNV, during the recent panel at SMM in Hamburg.

source: Carbon capture corridors: The missing link? ‣ WorldCargo News

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