Connect with us

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.

Admin

Published

on

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.

T1 Ind 501 The FuelPath model

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

T2 Ind 501 Annual cost range

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?

T3 Ind 501 Annual cost range 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

Continue Reading

Decarbonisation

Singapore-based Berge Bulk installs carbon capture system on board bulk carrier

System, developed by Value Maritime, integrates carbon capture into an exhaust gas cleaning system known as the Filtree System, designed to capture up to 15 tonnes of CO₂ per day.

Admin

Published

on

By

Singapore-based Berge Bulk installs carbon capture system on board bulk carrier

Singapore-based dry bulk owner Berge Bulk on Wednesday (7 May) said it has completed the installation of a carbon capture system on board its 63,000 DWT Ultramax vessel Berge Yotei.

The system, developed by Value Maritime, integrates carbon capture into an exhaust gas cleaning system known as the Filtree System. It is designed to capture up to 15 tonnes of CO₂ per day, representing a potential 30% reduction in emissions during operations.

Unlike conventional scrubbers, the Filtree System removes both sulphur oxides and CO₂ from a vessel’s exhaust. CO₂ is absorbed into a reusable amine solution, which can be offloaded in port for regeneration or reuse. Potential applications include use in greenhouses, beverage production, and other industrial processes — contributing to a more circular carbon economy.

“Carbon capture is a key pillar of our decarbonisation strategy. While we remain committed to optimising fleet efficiency, installing decarbonisation technology, and switching to new fuels, we must also capture carbon at the same time.” said James Marshall, CEO of Berge Bulk. 

“We’ve been actively capturing carbon through nature-based solutions on shore for many years, now it’s time to also start capturing carbon on board.”

As the industry looks to decarbonise, Berge Bulk emphasised the need for collaboration across governments, ports, technology providers, and regulators to develop the infrastructure, protocols, and commercial models needed to support carbon capture at scale.

 

Photo credit: Berge Bulk
Published: 9 May, 2025

Continue Reading

Technology

GCMD life cycle study quantifies net GHG emissions savings for pathways with OCCS

GCMD highlights comprehensive life cycle assessment quantifying GHG emissions and costs associated with onboard carbon capture and storage across the entire carbon value chain in COLOSSUS study.

Admin

Published

on

By

GCMD life cycle study quantifies net GHG emissions savings for pathways with OCCS

The Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation (GCMD) on Tuesday (6 May) released its latest report on a comprehensive life cycle assessment (LCA) quantifying Carbon Capture and Storage’s (OCCS) potential to provide GHG emissions savings.

The study, named COLOSSUS (Carbon capture, offloading, onshore storage, utilisation and permanent storage), provides an in-depth analysis of GHG emissions and costs associated with OCCS across the entire carbon value chain, accounting for emissions from fuel production, transport and use, to CO2 capture onboard the vessel and its final disposition.

GCMD said LCAs facilitate an equivalent comparison of different decarbonisation measures; this comparison can help shipowners make informed decisions on solutions adoption based on their net abatement impact across the entire carbon value chain. This holistic quantification of emissions ensures that OCCS adoption does not lead to inadvertent increases in emissions in adjacent sectors because of decisions made downstream.

“While LCAs are available for onshore carbon capture technologies in themselves, assessments of the overall GHG emissions from deploying these solutions onboard vessels across the associated value chains are limited,” it added.

A full assessment would require the inclusion of the well-to- tank (WtT) emissions of the fuel, onboard tank-to-wake (TtW) emissions, including those associated with OCCS operations, the subsequent emissions from transporting captured CO2, and those associated with permanent storage or its utilisation.

What this study considers

The study used a WtW GHG emissions of 93.3 gCO2eq/MJ for Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO) as a baseline for comparison against other scenarios. This study explored five OCCS technologies, with six marine fuel options, and three post-capture scenarios. Among OCCS technologies, the study examined different post-capture scenarios with conventional monoethanolamine (MEA)- based OCCS, with it being the most mature of the OCCS technologies in the industry. Based on the practical limitations of storing large quantities of liquid CO2 onboard vessels, the study further assumed a 40% gross carbon capture for all scenarios explored, consistent with industry recommendations.

Key findings

Notably, the deployment of conventional MEA-based OCCS can result in a WtW GHG emissions savings of 29% for an HFO-fuelled ship.

Replacing HFO with biofuels presents a promising strategy for maximising GHG emissions savings. The WtW emissions savings for a vessel deploying MEA-based OCCS range from 69% to 121% when using bio-LNG and biodiesel from used cooking oil, respectively.

Among the post-capture scenarios evaluated, fixing the captured CO2 in concrete is most effective. This approach can increase GHG emissions savings from 29% to 60% across the carbon value chain by partially displacing the need for carbon-intensive cement in applications Ashore.

Post-capture transport and permanent storage of CO2 add minimal emissions, approximately 1% to the WtW emissions of a vessel deploying MEA-based OCCS when the captured CO2 is transported 1,000 km.

Captured CO2 can also be used to produce e-methanol with renewable electricity, allowing the vessel that consumes this e-methanol to claim a 17% GHG emissions savings.

The cost of avoided carbon for OCCS with permanent storage is between USD 269-405/tCO2 for a 40% gross capture on an MR tanker, considering a full-scale, Nth-of-a-kind installation of an OCCS system with full heat recovery.

Note: The full statement by GCMD can be found here while the full study findings can be found here.

 

Photo credit: Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation
Published: 6 May, 2025

Continue Reading

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.

Admin

Published

on

By

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

Continue Reading

Trending