Asia Pacific (APAC) countries by 2050 could require up to 150 vessels to transport an estimated 100 million tons per annum (MtPA) of captured CO2 across national borders, according to a joint study by the Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation (GCMD) and Boston Consulting Group (BCG).
The report, titled Opportunities for Shipping to Enable Cross-border CCUS Initiatives, found that shipping CO2 will be especially important in Asia Pacific (APAC) due to the vast oceans and seas that separate emitters and sequestration sites, when compared to Europe.
To address this, several APAC governments, including Australia, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and South Korea, are pursuing cross-border partnerships and initiatives to support cross-border CO₂ transportation and sequestration.
The study estimated that around 100 million tons per annum (MtPA) of CO2 captured using carbon capture technologies is expected to be transported across national borders in APAC by 2050.
Transporting this annual tonnage would require between 85 to 150 liquefied CO2 carriers of 50 kt capacity where the total investments needed for these vessels by 2050 could reach up to USD 25 billion.
Furthermore, the study found that shipping is more cost-effective than offshore pipelines when transporting 5 MtPA or less of captured CO2 over a distance of 500 km or more.
According to the study, cross-border shipping of CO2 can play a key role in the Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Sequestration (CCUS) value chain, particularly when sequestration opportunities near emitters are limited.
Professor Lynn Loo, chief executive officer, GCMD said: “Our study shows that APAC has the potential to lead in CO2 shipping. In APAC, emitters and sinks are often separated by large bodies of water over vast distances, unlike Northern Europe where CCUS facilities are more geographically concentrated.
“This makes shipping a more attractive mode of CO2 transport in APAC, underscoring the importance of building up a shipping ecosystem.
“This effort entails constructing CO2 carriers, developing port-side infrastructure, establishing standards and guidelines for transporting and offloading CO2, and upskilling crew with requisite training.”
