Klaveness Combination Carriers (KCC) has all eyes on further cutting CO2 emissions from its business, whilst offering the by far lowest carbon emission solution within the tanker and dry bulk space. Apart from its ongoing work to improve its energy, operational and trading efficiency, KCC explores and tests other innovative solutions to reduce its CO2 emissions. Joining a new carbon capture project called CCShip led by SINTEF Energy Resarch, is part of this work.

To reach our decarbonization targets of carbon neutral operation within 2030, we need to evaluate all solutions contributing towards significant further reductions of CO2 emissions in our transport work, says Engebret Dahm, CEO of Klaveness Combination Carriers ASA (KCC).

What happens before zero-carbon fuels become available?

With long lead time before zero-carbon fuels are available globally, other solutions must be explored and tested when it comes to reducing shipping’s GHG emissions. The one thing we know for certain is that we need all the solutions we can think of, both for increasing energy efficiency, burning fuels with lower carbon emissions, and for capturing and storing emitted CO2, and we need them now.

Collaboration with SINTEF Energy Research to investigate carbon capture and storage on the fleet

Due to its already high maturity for onshore applications, on-board CO2 capture systems can play an important role in meeting the shipping emission target before zero-carbon fuels become viable. Considering the long lifespan of existing and planned hydrocarbon-fueled ships, on-board CO2 capture is also expected to be a long-term measure.

To develop knowledge and technologies required to achieve such deployment, KCC has joined a new project called CCShip led by SINTEF Energy Research. The project focuses on deploying Carbon Capture & Storage technologies (CCS) for ships to reduce CO2 emissions. DNV has previously stated that solvent-based absorption CCS is feasible, reducing ship emissions with over 50 %, and a recent study indicates onboard CCS can have higher economic feasibility than zero-carbon fuels.

Developing cost-effective solutions for CCS from ships

The main objective of the CCShip project is to develop cost-effective solutions for CCS from ships, as well as to understand when CCS can be a more attractive technology than alternative solutions to reduce CO2 emissions from ships. While solvent-based CO2 capture (also considered as a base case in CCShip) has been shown to be feasible but very likely to be an expensive solution, the project will also focus on potential of different novel CO2 capture solutions in terms of weight, compactness, integration, efficiency, and cost. To maximize opportunities for CO2 capture implementation, the project will also investigate opportunities for different ship types and transport applications (size, fuel type, voyage distance), as well as consider both new-build and retrofitting of vessels.

Collaboration with key research and industrial organizations

In addition to Klaveness, the CCShip project gathers other key research and industrial organizations in the fields, namely SINTEF Energy Research (Project Leader), SINTEF Ocean, NTNU, University of Oslo, Seoul National University, Wärtsilä Moss, Klaveness and Calix Limited. The CCShip project is funded by Wärtsilä Moss, Calix Limited, the Norwegian CCS Centre NCCS, as well as the Norwegian Research Council through the MAROFF program (project no. 320260).

We are excited to learn more about CCS and to contribute with our operational experience to this research project, and we will continuously evaluate whether carbon capture may be one of the possible solutions for decarbonization for the Klaveness fleet, says Dahm.