INEOS and Royal Wagenborg to Build CO2 Carrier for Denmark’s CCS Operation
Danish energy company INEOS Energy is contracting for a dedicated CO2 transport vessel as it takes the next step in advancing the program to launch Denmark’s first large-scale CO2 storage facility in the Danish North Sea. INEOS and the Netherlands’ Royal Wagenborg signed an agreement for the vessel which will be the next in an emerging class of shipping dedicated to the emerging CO2 capture and storage industry.
“The lack of dedicated CO2 carriers has been a bottleneck for advancing CCS projects within Europe,” said David Bucknall, CEO of INEOS Energy. The collaboration between INEOS and Royal Wagenborg serves as a breakthrough moment for the EU’s climate goals, offering a viable solution for large-scale CO2 transport.”
INEOS has been leading the pilot phase of Project Greensand, which is slated to launch in the Danish North Sea by 2026. The project aspires to store up to 400,000 tonnes of CO2 annually in the initial phase, with plans to increase capacity to up to eight million tonnes per year by 2030. In 2023, it became the first to demonstrate cross-border transport of captured CO2 and received a license for injection of the CO2 into a depleted oil field in the North Sea.
INEOS Energy agreed to buy a specially adapted vessel for large-scale CO2 transport from Royal Wagenborg. The vessel will be based on the EasyMax design developed by Royal Wagenborg and Royal Niestern Sander in cooperation with partners for an easy-to-operate, fuel-efficient, high-capacity loader. EasyMax is an open-top multi-purpose ice-classed vessel with a load capacity of 14,200 tonnes and a hold volume of 625,000 cubic feet.
With a length of 492 feet (149.95 meters), the EasyMax has the maximum possible dimensions for the Royal Niestern Sander shipyard. Last week, the company delivered the fourth vessel of the class to Wagenborg.
The order was signed in the presence of HM King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands and HM King Frederik of Denmark to underscore the effort to expand cooperation between the countries. The Dutch king is accompanied by a Dutch business delegation on a visit that centers around strengthening cooperation between the two countries around hydrogen and future energy systems.
In Norway, they are also preparing to start operations at Northern Lights, a joint venture started in 2017 between Equinor, TotalEnergies, and Shell. The onshore facility has been completed and they have contracts with Yara in the Netherlands to capture and store 800,000 tonnes of CO2 from ammonia production, and with Ørsted to store 430,000 tonnes of biogenic CO? emissions per year from two power plants in Denmark. Both are set to start in 2026.
The company’s first CO2 transport vessel is completing sea trials in Dalian, China, and will shortly depart for Norway. They are building a total of four vessels that will transfer the captured CO2 from sites in Europe to the receiving facility in Norway which will pump the CO2 offshore for storage under the seabed.