INEOS launch first CO2 carrier for North Sea CCS project

BRITISH chemicals company INEOS has partnered with maritime business Royal Wagenborg on the launch of a carrier vessel that will transport CO2 from across Europe to the North Sea.

The vessel, named Carbon Destroyer 1, is expected to carry CO2 from Denmark’s Port Esbjerg to the INEOS-operated Nini field in the Danish North Sea – where it will be permanently stored.

Carbon Destroyer 1 is part of Project Greensand, or Greensand Future, which comprises a consortium of 23 Danish and international companies, led by INEOS, who are developing a large-scale European carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS) value chain.

The project aims to capture, transport and store 400,000 t/y of CO2, with a further goal to permanently store up to 8m t/y of CO2.

Jim Ratcliffe, the CEO of INEOS, said: “The launch of Carbon Destroyer 1 is an important next step for carbon capture and storage in Europe. We are demonstrating that carbon storage is commercially viable and a far better way to decarbonise Europe without its deindustrialisation.”

Maritime innovation

Wagenborg developed the energy efficient design of the Carbon Destroyer 1, which is fit for handling CO2 at low temperatures.

The company’s most recent vessel designs, called EasyMax, include real-time monitoring of fuel consumption and route planning technology, which it says makes the ships more efficient.

Transportation

A new CO2 terminal is currently in construction in Port Esbjerg, which INEOS says will be used as “the onshore hub” for receiving, storing and loading liquified CO2 onto the vessel.

The terminal is expected to have six large storage tanks and infrastructure to support continuous CO2 transportation. Captured CO2 will be delivered to the terminal by truck, where it will be temporarily stored before being transferred to Carbon Destroyer 1.

From there, the vessel will take the CO2 to the Nini Field, where it will be injected into depleted oil reservoirs 1,800 m beneath the seabed for long-term storage.

INEOS expects Carbon Destroyer 1 to be fully operational by Q4 of 2025.