Two LNG-Fueled CO2 Carriers Ordered in China for Norwegian CCS Project

China to build two LNG=fueled CO2 carriers for Norwegian CO2 capture and storage porject — Two LNG-fueled CO2 carriers will transport the captured C)2 for storage under the North Sea (Northern Lights)

Energy major Shell, Equinor, and TotalEnergies are moving forward with their joint venture project, Northern Lights, to store captured CO2 off the west coast of Norway. The project has ordered two first of their kind vessels, specifically designed to transport the CO2 captured in Northern Europe to a terminal in Norway before being piped offshore into reservoirs under the North Sea.

As part of the first phase of its CO2 transport and storage infrastructure development, Northern Lights has ordered two dedicated 426-foot-long CO2 carriers, each with a cargo capacity of 7,500 m3. The ships will be built by Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Co. (DSIC) in China and are expected to be delivered by mid-2024.

“The use of ships will enable the development of a flexible and efficient European infrastructure network for transport of CO2 captured by our industrial customers, keeping costs as low as possible to help decarbonization scale up. I am also very pleased that these ships will be built to keep their emissions to a minimum through the use of innovative technology,” says Børre Jacobsen, Managing Director of Northern Lights.

The vessels are designed to transport liquid CO2 with purpose-built pressurized cargo tanks. The primary fuel for the ships will be LNG. Other innovative technologies, such as a wind-assisted propulsion system and air lubrication, will be installed to reduce carbon intensity by around 34 percent compared to conventional systems. The ships will be registered in Norway, classed by DNV, and operated by Northern Lights.

“Responding to the low emission strategy, DSIC worked over the last two years together with Northern Lights for the development of the selected technical solutions. The cooperation and efforts by both parties materialized in the award of these contracts. Taking this opportunity, DSIC will devote itself to delivery of these pioneering projects in a safe, high-quality, and timely manner and assist Northern Lights on the ambitions of low carbon emission,” says Riqiang Hu, Marketing Director of DSIC.

Once in operation, the ships will load captured and liquefied CO2 from European emitters and transport it to the Northern Lights receiving terminal in Øygarden in western Norway. Northern Lights will have the capacity to store up to 1.5 million tons of CO2 per year.