According to a recent study by Bureau Veritas (BV), carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology has enormous potential to help the shipping industry reduce its CO2 emissions.
In their Feasibility Study and Design: Installing Carbon Capture and Storage Units on Existing Ships white paper, Bureau Veritas set out to study the feasibility of integrating CCS technology onboard in-service vessels.
To study onboard CCS, BV partnered with Wah Kwong and QIYAO Environmental Technology, installing CCS units onboard two in-service ships.
Wah Kwong provided two vessels from their fleet: a 53,000 DWT bulk carrier (Tianjin Venture) and a 176,000 DWT bulk carrier (CSSC Wan Mei).
Using vessel-specific parameters, QIYAO ENVIRON TEC then developed customized CCS units, which were submitted to Bureau Veritas for approval.
Challenges
The study identified the following challenges for integrating CCS technology onboard:
- Onboard installation: unit arrangement and available space.
- CCS dry weight: installation of CCS equipment and LCO2 tanks.
- Shaft alignment: hull deformation assessment.
- Stability: intact and damage stability assessments.
Results
The study also found that from 2023-2030, with CCS technology onboard, the Tianjin Venture could save ~$305,000 USD. The ship’s carbon capture rate would begin at 10.2%, then rise to 29.5% by 2030.
Similarly, the CSSC Wan Mei could save ~$555,000 USD, with a maximum carbon capture rate of 26.3%. This suggests that applying CCS to in-service vessels is not only feasible, but a potentially economically attractive option for shipowners.
However, customized design of CCS units would be required to ensure each ship reaches the maximum possible CO2 reduction on an economically viable basis.
Key takeaways:
- According to Bureau Veritas, the analysis illustrates that the application of CCS technology in ships is feasible and creates certain economies under increasingly strict regulations in the future.
- However, the industry must take into account the difficult process of industry chain establishment, such as how collected CO2 is handled, the subsequent development of carbon tax, whether non-EU countries will propose similar regulations, etc.
- Bureau Veritas has no doubt that CCS is already an effective technical solution to decarbonize ships, and a customized design for specific ships will ensure the best savings while meeting regulations.
