TradeWinds: Provaris and Yinson aim to break CO₂ carrier capacity ceiling with new order in the works

Strategic collaboration could end up with greenhouse gas carried on much larger ships, writes journalist Gary Dixon.

From TradeWinds: Sydney-listed Provaris Energy and Malaysia’s Yinson Production are teaming up to develop technology that could expand the capacity of much-needed new CO2 carriers.

The companies will work on CO2 tank designs for the storage and bulk transport of the greenhouse gas.

Provaris is a pioneer in compressed gas shipping technology and hopes to order its first hydrogen gas carriers next year.

Yinson is an owner of floating production storage and offloading ships.

The idea is for the partners to evaluate the technical and economic viability of adapting Provaris’ own technology, including tank design and fabrication methodology, for large-scale shipping of CO2.

“This collaboration aims to deliver a new CO2 tank design solution and support the development of CO2 storage and transport infrastructure critical for the widespread deployment of carbon capture,” they said.

The collaboration will also assess the potential for other hydrogen derivatives such as ammonia.

As Yinson expands into the carbon capture and sequestration sector, the partnership aims to have cost-effective and scaleable solutions ready.

The two sides said there is currently no vessel available to carry CO2 in a low-pressure and temperature range suitable for long sailing distances and large cargo volumes.

“This collaboration aims to help develop a new CO2 tank design solution that will address current CO2 transit and storage limitations,” they said.

Clarksons lists 10 liquid CO2 carriers on order, with the biggest so far being Greek owner Evangelos Marinakis’ 22,000-cbm design.

‘Much larger’

Provaris managing director and chief executive Martin Carolan told TradeWinds he could not reveal a specific target for the capacity increase, beyond saying the potential is for a “much larger” scale.

And he explained the market is limited to CO2 ships at 22,000 cbm based on a 7,500-cbm tank.

“The economics will improve if we modify our H2 tank design to have a much higher capacity as the market scales from 2030,” Carolan said.

Provaris’ H2Neo hydrogen ship design has a total capacity of 27,000 cbm based on two tanks.

“The CO2 tanks will be much lighter, so you would target multiple large tanks to materially increase total capacity and sail longer distances,” he added.

Bigger tanks would remove the duplication of pipes and pumps. Lower pressure would also be key to larger tank diameter and reduced wall thickness, the CEO explained.

Carolan called the alliance “extremely exciting”.

“The CO2 market is already well-developed and seeking cutting-edge, scaleable and cost-effective storage and transport solutions,” he added.

Yinson has six FPSOs and a VLCC. The group was founded by Lim Han Weng.

Lars Gunnar Vogt, Yinson Production chief technical officer, said: “We recognise the importance of carbon capture and storage in achieving global emission targets, and we’re committed to playing a key role in this space.”

“We’re excited to explore the potential of adapting Provaris’ proprietary tank design for compressed hydrogen to meet the needs of the growing carbon capture market.

“This collaboration is a significant step forward in Yinson Production’s plans to drive the carbon value chain,” he added.