This week, Mitsubishi Shipbuilding Co., Ltd., a Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) Group company, held a launch ceremony for a demonstration test ship for transport of liquefied carbon dioxide (LCO2), to be utilized with initiatives by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) for its demonstration projects.
With growing interest in carbon capture and storage (CCS) as a promising green technology to address CO2 emissions from shipping, maritime transport is expected to dominate the CCS value chain, leading to increased demand for liquefied CO2 (LCO2) carriers.
Liquefied CO2 carriers play an important role in this value chain by transporting liquefied CO2 to the sites where it is stored and/or utilized. Because the sources of CO2 emissions are often located distant from the sites selected for carbon utilization or storage, demand is expected to increase for LCO2 carriers able to transport such cargo safely and economically.
The Engineering Advancement Association of Japan (ENAA), one of the consignees for the NEDO demonstration projects, will charter the ship from Sanyu Kisen, and install and operate the LCO2 marine tank system used to conduct research and development. Three additional project partners, Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd. (K Line), Nippon Gas Line Co., Ltd., and Ochanomizu University, will be commissioned by ENAA to conduct R&D on the pressure control and stability of the LCO2 transported on the ship, and plan demonstration experiments, as well as develop and demonstrate technologies for safe and low-cost CO2 transport.
Mitsubishi Shipbuilding is in charge of all aspects from the ship design through construction, including the cargo containment system, applying its gas handling technologies and expertise cultivated through the construction of liquefied gas carriers (both LPG and LNG types).
Representatives from Sanyu Kisen, Nippon Gas Line, and K Line attended the launch ceremony. Following outfitting and sea trials, the ship is scheduled to be handed over in the latter half of fiscal 2023.
The ceremony, conducted in the presence of representatives of the ship’s owner Sanyu Kisen Co., Ltd. and other partners, was held at the Enoura Plant of MHI’s Shimonoseki Shipyard & Machinery Works in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture.
