CCUS

DNV Decarbonization Insights: The rise of onboard carbon capture and storage in Asia

Concerns over potentially catastrophic impact of a rapidly warming planet have spurred efforts by Asian countries to set targets for achieving zero net carbon emissions by around the middle of this century.

Published

11 months ago

November 2, 2023

Admin

DNV Decarbonization Insights The rise of onboard carbon capture and storage in Asia

There’s a new acronym to get used to when embarking on the maritime decarbonization journey.

It’s OCCS – which stands for “onboard carbon capture and storage” - and that’s comprehensively covered by DNV in its latest guidelines for the safe installation of the system on board ships.

The new OCCS guidelines have been produced amid growing pressure on the shipping industry to develop effective technologies to reduce emissions as part of the ongoing maritime energy transition.

Of course, many different methods for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions will be necessary – including alternative cleaner fuels and more effective energy saving measures - to achieve international, regional, and national emissions targets.

But post-combustion OCCS on board trading ships is expected to be among these very necessary future solutions, especially on vessels where the use of alternative fuels is not feasible.

DNV's new guidelines are designed to be used by stakeholders across the value chain, including ship designers, builders, OCCS system manufacturers, and ship owners, and apply to both newbuilds and retrofits.

In the process, DNV says it is vital to cover all aspects for safe installation, including exhaust pre-treatment, absorption with the use of chemicals/amines, after-treatment systems, liquefaction processes, CO2 storage, and transfer systems.

"A focus on safety is crucial for new technology and must be prioritised as the industry looks to adopt sustainable fuels and CCS installations," said Chara Georgopoulou, Head of Maritime R&D and Advisory Greece, Senior Research Engineer II, Onboard CCS Manager.

CCS technology is tried and tested in land-based industry, but its application on board ships is relatively unproven.

What the DNV guidelines provide is a framework for installation, offering support for stakeholders in the industry, while contributing to reducing emissions and driving the maritime industry towards a more sustainable future.

There are currently no statutory regulations addressing the possible safety implications of using OCCS systems on board ships. The guidelines also cover alternative solutions for carbon capture, including physical absorption and cryogenic methods.

DNV ready to test OCCS in Asia

It was recently announced that DNV has entered a Joint Development Project (JDP) with the Singapore-based ship owner Asiatic Lloyd Maritime LLP (ALM) to explore the feasibility of OCCS with ALM’s container and Kamsarmax bulk carrier.

The plan is for DNV to cooperate with ALM on a techno-economic study of OCCS on vessels using DNV’s FuelPath to assess the economic potential of the different fuel and technology strategies. The model will reflect a range of fuel and CO2 price scenarios and future decarbonization requirements, aligned with ALM’s own net zero ambitions.

Ever ready to collaborate, Cristina Saenz de Santa Maria, Regional Manager Southeast Asia, Pacific & India, Maritime at DNV said she was delighted that DNV is partnering with Asiatic Lloyd Maritime to explore cost-effective fuel strategies that would support their net zero ambitions.

“It’s becoming increasingly important for shipowners to look ahead and embark on a decarbonization strategy that allows for regulatory compliance and optimized operations.

“To this effect, backed by DNV’s experienced global network and team of experts in the Maritime Decarbonization & Autonomy Regional Centre of Excellence in Singapore, we are in a prime position to help the industry navigate the maritime energy transition in a safe and efficient manner,” she said.

This is a good way to see how OCCS will work in different vessels and conditions, and notably in Asia.

OCCS case study model

DNV’s latest Maritime Forecast to 2050 report detailed the techno-economic evaluation involving the company’s tried and tested FuelPath model for a large, modern deep-sea ship, a 15,000 TEU container vessel, sailing between the Far East and Western Europe.

Assumptions for this study are that the ship runs on heavy fuel oil (HFO), has a carbon dioxide (CO2) capture unit and storage tanks, and is fitted with a scrubber for sulphur oxides (SOX) and exhaust pre-treatment.

The study models annual costs under two on-board CO2 capture and storage (CCS) scenarios, Low and High cost, to compensate for economic uncertainties such as CAPEX and OPEX. It focuses on two parameters that it assesses as impacting most on the economics of on-board CO2 capture.

One is the ‘fuel penalty’, the extra energy used for operating the capture unit. The other is the ‘CO2 deposit cost’, the sum of the CO2 transport and storage costs.

So, what is required for an economic case for on board CCS?

For the annual cost range, the Low CSS (cost) scenario is seen to perform well against the other fuel strategies. The Forecast attributes this partly to the HFO price in the scenarios, and partly to fuel penalty and CO2 deposit costs compared with the cost of buying a larger share of carbon-neutral fuels.

The High CCS (cost) scenario performs around the middle of the studied fuel strategies. For net present value, the High CCS (cost) case is close to the mean for the fuel strategies by mid-century while the Low CCS (cost) case outperforms three-quarters of them.

“Our research suggests there can be an economic case for on-board CCS if the capture technologies have low fuel penalties and if a CCS industry can offer the low CO2 storage costs in our model,” says Eirik Ovrum, Maritime Principal Consultant at DNV and lead author of the Forecast.

While no detailed studies have been undertaken so far in Asia, there is growing interest in putting OCCS to the test.

Growing regional interest in CCUS

Concerns over the potentially catastrophic impact of a rapidly warming planet have spurred efforts by countries in Asia to set targets for achieving zero net carbon emissions by around the middle of this century.

CCS and carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) are seen as ways to reduce the negative effects of fossil fuel use.

Last year, DNV and Petronas signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to address the technical, regulatory, and business challenges of carbon capture utilization and storage (CCUS) deployment.

The collaboration entailed initiatives and activities related to CCUS deployment by leveraging each organisation’s technical skills, resources, and research capabilities. CCUS enables the capture of CO2 emissions from industrial activities and, in South East Asia, could play a crucial role in the region’s transition to net zero.

In June this year, DNV awarded Petronas, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL) and Shanghai Merchant Ship Design & Research Institute (SDARI) with Approvals in Principle (AiPs) for their jointly developed liquefied carbon dioxide (LCO2) carriers and LCO2 floating storage and offloading unit (FSO). This was awarded soon after the announcement made by Petronas, Pertamina, and PTTEP, South East Asia's three biggest national oil companies, that they are intensifying efforts to develop carbon capture and storage (CCS) capabilities in an attempt to both decarbonize and seize opportunities in the nascent industry.

Taking DNV’s new OCCS Guidelines to heart and testing them in different vessels, situations and locations is a necessary step as the industry explores various means to decarbonize and achieve emission reductions.

In Asia and everywhere, DNV believes the maritime industry has to go beyond setting targets to achieve net zero to actually putting in place effective technologies – as spelt out in the OCCS guidelines - to reduce emissions as part of the ongoing decarbonization process and towards an effective energy transition.

Photo credit: DNV
Published: 3 November, 2023

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Decarbonisation

DNV awards AiP to HD Hyundai for OOCS system retrofit design

Project was conducted as a JIP between DNV and HD Hyundai companies, involving carbon capture and liquefaction systems that were successfully integrated to an LNG dual fuel ultra-large container ship.

Published

2 weeks ago

September 23, 2024

Admin

DNV awards AiP to HD Hyundai for OOCS system retrofit design

Classification society DNV on Tuesday (17 September) said it awarded an Approval in Principle (AiP) to HD Hyundai Marine Solution, HD Hyundai Engineering & Technology, HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (HD KSOE), and Hyundai Heavy Industries Power Systems for their design of an onboard carbon capture and storage (OCCS) system for retrofits.

The retrofit design, which is applicable to a wide range of vessels, showcases the collaborative efforts of the HD Hyundai affiliates. With the global maritime industry increasingly focused on reducing carbon emissions, DNV's AiP confirms that the OCCS technology is both feasible and prepared to meet emerging regulatory requirements.

The project was conducted as a Joint Industry Project (JIP) between DNV and the HD Hyundai companies, focusing on an LNG dual fuel, 15,000 TEU ultra-large container ship built by the HD Hyundai Group. The JIP successfully integrated advanced carbon capture and liquefaction systems developed by Hyundai Heavy Industries Power Systems and HD KSOE.

The collaboration leveraged the strengths of each partner: HD Hyundai Marine Solution for basic design, HD Hyundai Engineering & Technology for 3D modelling and detailed design, and DNV for verification based on the applicable international regulations and its world leading classification rules and guidelines.

Ki-Dong Lee, CEO of HD Hyundai Marine Solution, said: “We are proud to receive this certificate, and this AiP proves HD Hyundai’s design capability in the retrofit market. HD HMS has added OCCS retrofitting, along with Dual Fuel Engine Retrofit and FSRU/FSU conversion, to its eco-friendly retrofit business in order to provide total solutions that meet various customers’ requirements.

Vidar Dolonen, Regional Manager of DNV Korea and Japan, said: “The AiP underscores the importance of collaborative innovation in advancing maritime decarbonization. Our joint efforts with these forward-thinking companies demonstrate the potential of OCCS technology as an immediate and practical solution to reduce emissions in shipping.”

Photo credit: DNV
Published: 23 September, 2024

Decarbonisation

Decarbonizing Asian shipping: The potential of Onboard Carbon Capture

DNV dives deep into the potential of Onboard Carbon Capture Storage particularly in Asia to coincide with the recent release of its latest whitepaper.

Published

4 months ago

June 24, 2024

Admin

Editor's note: DNV on 9 July published a new class notation to enable hydrogen vessels and on-board carbon capture. The latest information can be found here.

With the recent release of its latest whitepaper, classification society DNV sheds light on the potential of Onboard Carbon Capture Storage particularly in Asia, highlights the growing interest in it among shipowners and what needs to happen to encourage its wider adoption:

By Cristina Saenz de Santa Maria
VP, Regional Manager - South East Asia, Pacific & India, Maritime at DNV

The International Energy Agency (IEA) says that to achieve the 1.5°C global warming limit set by the Paris Agreement, we need to capture 7.6 billion tons of CO2 annually by 2050. (Ref 1)

In its July 2023 update, the Global CCS Institute (GCCSI) mentioned that current Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) projects cover about 50 megatons of CO2 annually. This implies that from 2023 to 2050, CCS capacity must increase at least 100 times to capture the projected 7.6 billion tons of CO2. (Ref 2)

DNV sees strong potential for Onboard Carbon Capture Storage - or OCCS- an area it is actively engaged in with industry players to put to the test.

Cristina Saenz de Santa Maria, DNV

OCCS outlook in Asia

In its latest white paper about OCCS, DNV sets out to provide guidance to shipowners, technology providers, and other stakeholders on central matters related to OCCS. (Ref 3)

It makes it clear from the start that OCCS is key among all other efforts to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from shipping, in addition to improving energy efficiency and switching to carbon-neutral fuels.

Capturing the CO2 produced by carbon-based fuels and utilizing it, or storing it underground, is important for the maritime industry if it is to get anywhere near the IEA targets or meeting IMO goals for emissions reductions: to reduce the total annual GHG emissions from international shipping by at least 20%, striving for 30%, by 2030, compared to 2008. (Ref 4)

One industry voice which updates us on CCS activities in Asia (as well as Europe) is Jasper Heikens, CCO at ECOLOG, a mid-stream CO2 service company.

He points out that one of the drivers to undertake CCS is that industries in Asia will need to adhere to the EU’s forthcoming Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) if they wish to sell their products into the EU.

Mr Heikens thinks Asia will emerge as the biggest CO2 shipping market, because Japan and Korea have very limited storage capacity and will need to transport their CO2 over greater distances than the EU to, for example, Malaysia, Indonesia, or Australia. (Ref 5)

In March this year, the Singapore based Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonization (GCMD) released its landmark study on offloading onboard captured carbon dioxide and identified low port readiness as key barrier to large-scale commercialisation:

Infrastructure and procedures for handling captured carbon dioxide (CO2) at ports are currently inadequate,
Defining clear pathways to offload, utilise, and/ or sequester CO2, is crucial for large-scale commercialisation of onboard carbon capture and storage.

Commenting in the report, Professor Lynn Loo, CEO of GCMD had this to say: “While pilots have successfully demonstrated numerous capture technologies onboard ships, it is still uncertain how captured carbon on merchant ships can be safely offloaded, and what the rest of the value chain looks like.” (Ref 6)

Growing interest among shipowners

With the regulatory landscape rapidly evolving, it will become increasingly important for shipowners to look ahead and embark on a decarbonization strategy that allows for regulatory compliance and optimized operations.

It is no wonder that in recent years, we have seen a growing number of shipowners across Asia entering into partnerships to explore the potential of OCCS.

DNV entered into a Joint Development Project (JDP) with AL Group and its Singapore company Asiatic Lloyd Maritime LLP in November 2023 to explore the feasibility of CCS on board AL’s 7,100TEU containership and Kamsarmax bulk carrier newbuildings. (Ref 7)

Under the JDP, DNV will cooperate with AL on a techno economic study of CCS on board the vessels using DNVs FuelPath to assess the economic potential of the different fuel and technology strategies.

Backed by DNV’s experienced global network and team of experts in the Centre of Excellence for Maritime Decarbonization & Smart Shipping in Singapore, we are in a prime position to help the industry navigate the maritime energy transition in a safe and efficient manner.” (Ref 8)

Earlier this year, we entered into another JDP, this time with the Singapore-based shipping company SDTR Marine to cooperate on an Onboard Carbon Capture and Storage (OCCS) feasibility study for the latter’s 85,000 dwt Kamsarmax bulk carrier.

DNV, through its work with other stakeholders and through these JDPs, will make sure it addresses the extremely important economic viability of OCCS and take care of all operational and safety issues at the same time.

DNV

Steps towards wider adoption

For shipowners to adopt onboard carbon capture, appropriate emission regulations must be established to credit captured CO2.

Currently, the EU Emissions Trading System is the only regulatory framework incentivizing carbon capture on ships, which is in alignment with EU strategy on land-based CCS.

In addition, the IMO has initiated a working group to look further into how onboard carbon capture can potentially be implemented in new GHG emission regulations.

We also know every well – and the whitepaper emphasizes this - that globally maritime cannot go on its own with OCCS. We must be connected to the global CCUS value chain.

As of today, this infrastructure is not established. The shipping industry needs to reach out to relevant CCUS development projects near major shipping hubs to discuss how the maritime industry can connect to the wider CCUS value chain.

OCCS will be driven to succeed only if it has the necessary global and regional regulatory approvals, in addition to industry assessments, testing and pilot projects.

Note: Access DNV’s guidelines for Onboard Carbon Capture Systems (OCCS) onboard ships here.

References:

Photo credit: DNV
Published: 24 June, 2024

CCUS

DNV explores present state of onboard carbon capture in new white paper

DNV’s study examines OCC as a decarbonization solution for shipping by looking at its technical, economic, operational, and regulatory challenges, as well as its integration into CCUS value chain.

Published

4 months ago

June 10, 2024

Admin

DNV explores present state of onboard carbon capture in new white paper

Onboard carbon capture (OCC) is attracting interest within the shipping industry, providing shipowners with the opportunity to continue operating on conventional fuels while reducing emissions, said classification society DNV on Wednesday (5 June).

However, according to DNV’s latest whitepaper The potential of onboard carbon capture in shipping, its success depends on collaboration between regulators, policy makers, industry stakeholders, class, and suppliers.

With decarbonization targets rapidly approaching, demand for cost-efficient solutions for emission reduction is increasing. DNV’s latest whitepaper explored OCC as a decarbonization solution for shipping by looking at its technical, economic, operational, and regulatory challenges, as well as its integration into the carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) value chain.

CCUS is the process of capturing CO2 and recycling it for future use or permanently storing it in deep underground geological formations. The maritime industry is exploring its application onboard ships, which will require an onboard system to capture, process and store the CO2, and a network of offloading which is integrated into wider CCUS infrastructure.

Chara Georgopoulou, Head of Maritime R&D and Advisory Greece, said: “OCC is expected to be part of a range of future options which will help shipping achieve its decarbonization goals. However, further collaboration and testing is required to verify its performance.”

“The commercial attractiveness of OCC will depend on the terms under which regulations can credit the removal of carbon emissions, and how smoothly it can be integrated into the growing CCUS value chain.”

For OCC to be relevant for wider application it must be economically viable and competitive with other decarbonization alternatives. If successfully deployed, OCC can become a key way for shipowners to comply with decarbonization regulations, while also helping to reduce the demand for alternative fuels.

The EU ETS is the only regulatory framework currently providing commercial incentives for OCC. To encourage shipowners to adopt the technology, future environmental and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions regulations must also provide credit for captured CO2.

“If we are to achieve IMO decarbonization targets, we must leave no stone unturned in continuing to investigate OCC and other potential technologies that can accelerate shipping’s decarbonization journey,” Georgopoulou said.

Note: The paper is available for free download here.

Photo credit: DNV
Published: 10 June, 2024