Vangelis Marinakis' Greek shipping company Capital proves its commitment to environmental protection in practice by designing a special ship for the transport of liquefied CO2 with HII
Capital and Hyundai Heavy Industries have designed a specialized type of ship to transport CO2
The solution of collecting carbon dioxide and installing it in submarine pits in the depths of the oceans is emerging as an alternative solution to the attempt to decarbonize the planet. The role of shipping in this effort is pivotal, as specially designed ships will transport the CO2 in a supercooled state, so that it liquefies and can be transported.
In this context, Hyundai Heavy Industries, the largest shipyard in the world, and the Greek shipping company Capital Product Partners LP, in order to answer this challenge, designed a specialized type of ship for the transport of liquefied CO2.
"Our commitment to the environment is real. We are moving forward, paying with our own money and building new ships," said the president of Capital, Vangelis Marinakis.
The vision of the two major companies is, as the Wall Street Journal reports in its long feature on the subject, the four ships, which will be built and delivered in 2025 and 2026, at a total cost of more than 300 million dollars, to carry the cargo in depleted undersea oil and gas reservoirs or in land storage, where it will be pumped up and buried for permanent storage.
“Ships carry everything from oil to our furniture, clothes and toothpaste. Now they will carry the carbon dioxide emissions. This is essentially waste management", notes Mr. Gerasimos Kalogiratos, CEO of Capital Product Partners, the large company listed on the American stock exchange.
The "journey of CO2"
According to Capital Product Partners LP, a typical voyage of a CO2 carrier, which will have a reinforced hull and special tanks, will start from a terminal with natural gas liquefaction facilities. Cooled to -50 degrees Celsius (-58 Fahrenheit), carbon dioxide turns into a liquid with a density over 600 times that of the gas, allowing large quantities to be transported. The ships are designed to each carry up to 25,400 metric tons of CO2 per voyage.
Liquefied natural gas is transported over long distances by ship, but liquefied carbon dioxide is heavier than the former and moves under higher pressure and different temperatures, requiring different storage tanks and overall ship design.
The storage
Ships could transport the cargo of liquefied CO2 to terminals in northern Europe, where it would in turn be piped to inland oil tanks through a series of pipes. Alternatively, it will be directed to the sea, where pumps on offshore platforms will be used to transport the CO2 to untapped offshore oil and gas wells and caverns beneath the sea floor.
The ships will be equipped with stern thrusters and floating thrusters that make them more maneuverable and keep them stable in the open sea.
They will also sequester their own emissions or consume carbon-free ammonia. In addition, during loading or unloading, they will be connected to shore power sources to minimize fuel consumption. According to Capital Product Partners, the total volume of carbon dioxide emissions destined for landfill will be many times greater than the emissions produced during the liquefaction and transport of CO2 by sea.
The Investment
Capital Product Partners said it has invested in the vessels after talks with some of its biggest clients, including major energy companies, utilities and commodity traders. Mr. Kalogiratos even states in the Wall Street Journal, he is convinced that maritime transport of CO 2 will see a big growth in the coming years, since in many areas there are no inland oil wells to store the emissions.
According to Boston-based BCC Research, the global carbon capture, utilization and storage market is expected to grow to $5.2 billion by 2026 from $2.6 billion in 2021, with a compound annual growth rate of approx. 15%. In the EU, carbon storage is expected to increase to 80 million metric tons of CO2 in 2030 and reach at least 300 million metric tons in 2040, according to the European Commission.
source: ot.gr