South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries has received basic design approval from Korean Register for its LNG-powered liquefied carbon dioxide (LCO2) carrier.
The approval follows a joint development project between the two firms to develop 40,000 cbm LCO2 carriers fueled with LNG, according to a statement by KR released on Monday.
Under the project, HHI carried out the basic and structural design of the LCO2 carrier, while KR verified the safety and conformity of the design reviewing the class rules and international conventions.
KR said that one of the main aims of the project was to explore the economic feasibility of large pressure-type CO2 storage tanks.
To increase the size of the CO2 storage tanks, special materials with low-temperature and high-tensile need to be used instead of ordinary steel, which makes it challenging to control the thickness and weight of the tanks, it said.
The approved LCO2 carrier can store up to 40,000 cbm using a type C pressure tank made of existing low-temperature and high-tensile materials, KR said.
Moreover, the vessel’s LNG fuel propulsion system ensures low-carbon emissions during the carrier’s operation, it said.
KR added that this AIP is a “significant achievement”, bringing the commercialization of large LCO2 carrier technology “even closer”.
Classification society ABS recently said it had joined forces with Hyundai Heavy Industries Group and the Republic of the Marshall Islands Maritime Administrator to develop what it says is the world’s largest LCO2 carrier.
The LCO2 carrier design has a capacity of 74,000 cbm. Also, it builds on the 40,000 cbm “super gap” technology developed in 2021 by the group which includes Hyundai Glovis, G-Marine service, and KSOE.