Mitsubishi Shipbuilding, a part of the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) Group, and Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK Line) have been granted Approval in Principle (AiP) from the Japanese classification society ClassNK for a ship designed to transport ammonia and liquefied CO2 (LCO2).
LCO2 carriers are expected to play an important role as one of the means of efficiently transporting captured and liquefied CO2 to storage sites or effective use sites in the CCUS (Carbon dioxide Capture, Utilisation and Storage) value chain, which is attracting attention as one of the means to realise a low-carbon and decarbonised society. Ammonia is attracting worldwide interest as a next-generation clean energy that does not emit CO2 during combustion. The movement to strategically utilise ammonia in decarbonisation is gaining momentum worldwide.
Mitsubishi Shipbuilding and NYK Line have been working on the technological development of ammonia or LCO2 dedicated carriers, and both companies have already been collaborating on the technical development of large LCO2 carriers. With this AiP, the two companies will utilise their accumulated knowledge of ammonia and LCO2 to aim for the safe and economical transportation of ammonia and LCO2 on the same carrier. In that case, the carrier could transport ammonia to thermal power plants on the outbound route and then carry CO2 emitted from thermal power plants to storage sites on the return route.
MHI Group is strategically working to strengthen the energy transition business, and Mitsubishi Shipbuilding is promoting the development and commercialisation of ammonia and LCO2 carriers as a marine system integrator, aiming to build a value chain that spans land and sea and realise a decarbonised society. This AiP will enable NYK Line to develop various technologies, including ammonia and LCO2 carriers.
