The shipping company Dan-Unity CO2 is able to order the world’s first vessels capable of large-scale CO2 transportation. The new vessel designs from TGE Marine of 12,500 cbm and 22,000 cbm, ensuring safe transportation of CO2, have achieved approval in principle from ABS, The American Bureau of Shipping. This major milestone means that suitable shipyards will now be selected and invited into the process.

One 22,000 cbm vessel alone can deliver a safe and cost-efficient transport of about 500,000 tons CO2 annually when operating between the northwest European region and Iceland’s upcoming Coda Terminal near Reykjavik, operated by Dan-Unity’s partners, Carbfix.

The vessels will be purpose-built, and thus not be compatible with any other trades; consequently, long-term contract commitments are required to initiate newbuilding projects.

Dan-Unity CO2 is the first shipping company specialized in vessels for the transport of captured CO2 for storage (CCS) and re-use (CCU). Dan-Unity CO2 is owned by two shipping companies, Evergas and Navigator Gas, combining decades of safe, reliable, and efficient transport of liquified gasses.

As the COP26 summit only agreed to phase down on coal, focus increases on improving CCS technology to ensure global warming is limited 1,5C by 2100

Steffen Jacobsen, CEO of Dan-Unity CO2, said: “We see a growing interest in CCS and CCU and are committed to identifying solutions that combine capture, transport, and storage. As a leader in the industry, Dan-Unity CO2 is deeply involved in shipping requirements in North European projects of scale”.

The transport of CO2 is key for capturing and storage of emissions from industries and power plants.

“Dan-Unity CO2 has taken a leading role in developing the needed transport solutions and the Danish Maritime Fund has supported us in our goals with a grant of 2,8 Mio DKK to develop the vessel designs. We are proud to present the ground-breaking vessel design to yards, interested in building our new vessels”, Jacobsen added.

Vassilios Kroustallis, SVP of Global Business Development, ABS, said: “Carbon Capture can play a role in reducing emissions in a range of industries, but the supply chain will need vessels capable of transporting CO2 safely and efficiently. That’s why ABS is proud to be able to use its industry-leading expertise in gas carriers to support the development of these important vessels.”

Dan-Unity CO2 together with its Icelandic partner Carbfix plans to enable large-scale CO2 emission transport and storage already in 2025. The CO2 will be safely stored in Iceland’s volcanic bedrock and converted into stone within two years with a capacity of 2500 gigatons CO2 – more than 55 years of the entire globe’s emissions

In addition, Dan-Unity CO2 is a partner with Project Greensand, a project aiming at validating the technical and commercial feasibility of CO2 storage in the Danish part of the North Sea.

Once in place, Dan-Unity CO2 can build the number of vessels required using one of the new vessel size designs with a lead time of 27-28 months for building a CO2 vessel. The vessels are of course prepared to sail on green energy.