Babcock’s LGE business is teaming with South Korean shipbuilders Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) and Hyundai Mipo Dockyard (HMD) to develop liquefied carbon dioxide (LCO2) carrier designs
Under the partnership, Babcock’s LGE business will design the cargo handling system for a range of ship sizes, specifications, cargo purities and voyage profiles to produce a highly efficient system, which has been optimised to minimise emissions and cargo loss, reducing environmental impact, explained Babcock. The news was released during gas industry trade fair Gastech 2022 in Milan, Italy.
Carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) is widely seen as a promising technology in global decarbonisation. Part of developing the industry will require hundreds of LCO2 carriers to be built, capable of transporting liquefied CO2 for sequestration or potential use in producing synthetic fuels.
“We know that to build the most effective liquefied CO2 cargo handling system, we need to consider the full CO2 value chain”, explained Babcock LGE business sales and new product development programme manager Michael Scott. “By working with HHI and HMD – among the world’s largest shipyards – and other industry partners, we can design a cargo handling system that is safe, reliable and efficient. We are well on the way to achieving this and expect the commercialisation of our solution in the coming months”.
Added Mr Scott, “As LCO2 carriers share several common design features with LPG carriers, Babcock’s extensive experience in LPG – with more than 300 ships in service – makes us the ideal partner for development”.
Babcock is currently developing a suite of solutions to assist shipowners in their journey towards decarbonisation. This includes fuel gas supply systems for alternative fuels, carbon capture technologies and a range of retrofittable carbon reduction systems.
