CO₂ shipping economics
Costs of a marine transport include many elements: apart from the investment for vessels, other investments include loading and unloading facilities, temporary storage and liquefaction units. Additionally, operational costs include labour, ship fuel, harbour fees and maintenance. According to a report by the IPCC, the optimal use of installations and ships in the transport cycle is crucial for the business case for CO₂ shipping. In some cases, extra storage facilities are required to account for any potential disruption to the marine based CO₂ value chain.
In 2004 Equinor (then Statoil) estimated marine transport costs of 5.5Mt CO₂ per year by 17 20,000m3 tanker (upgraded LNG tankers) over a distance of 7600km per sailing, with liquefaction and loading/unloading costs to be USD 300million. The IEA conducted a comparable study demonstrating lower costs: for the same CO₂ cargo using 30,000m3 ships over a distance of 7600km the cost is estimated to be USD 35million – suggesting a stronger cost correlation with distance and cargo load.
The implementation of carbon capture technologies in shipping will result in an increased need for infrastructure supporting off and on-loading of CO₂. Innovative technologies can successfully mitigate the environmental impact of CO₂ when refitting industries towards a sustainable future.
Energy CO₂ solutions by ECONNECT
The ECONNECT Energy jettyless solution flexibly connects marine based transport methods for carbon capture.
Traditional CO₂ import and export shipping methods can be substituted for smart and flexible infrastructure for profitable carbon capture projects.
Various ECONNECT IQuay solutions can be utilised for marine-based transfer of liquid CO₂. Featuring industry-leading cryogenic floating hoses, CO₂ can be safely and efficiently transferred between CO₂ vessels to marine structures for offshore storage or land-based storage areas. The universal skid-mounted or semi-submersible IQuay design provides pressurised, continuous flow between structures and the operating pressure is managed by an integrated safety and control process system.
The IQuay portfolio connects CO₂ storage vessels to temporary and permanent storage facilities.
The IQuay jettyless solution can be scaled according to a project’s need, enabling the carbon capture and utilisation value chain. Benefits include:
A high degree of flexibility and can be deployed quickly and without the environmental impact of building conventional marine infrastructure
Along with transportation through pipelines, CO₂ can be transported on ships either at high-pressure state or at liquid state by cooling the gas down to the liquefaction point
Jettyless IQuay systems are fast and flexible, de-risking carbon capture projects and utilising high safety standards from the LNG industry which will be valuable lessons learned for the management of CO₂
Minimal footprint: hoses can be reeled and platform moored close to shore while not in use
Cost Efficient: significant CAPEX reduction compared to fixed infrastructure
Flexible to demand and easy to re-deploy in other CCS locations, thereby simplifying asset investment and increasing utilisation across several projects.
References:
Hisham Al Baroudi, et al. “A review of large-scale CO₂ shipping and marine emissions management for carbon capture, utilisation and storage. Applied Energy, Volume 287 (2021). Accessed from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306261921000684
“Flow of CO₂ in Pipes,” SINTEF Blog (2015). Accessed from: https://blog.sintef.com/sintefenergy/ccs/flow-of-co2-in-pipes/
IPCC, Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage Report (2005). Accessed from: https://www.ipcc.ch/report/carbon-dioxide-capture-and-storage/
“Shipping’s Future role in carbon capture and storage,” DNV (2022). Accessed from: https://www.dnv.com/expert-story/maritime-impact/Shippings-future-role-in-carbon-capture-and-storage.html
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