CARBON CAPTURE COULD PERMIT NEGATIVE CO2 EMISSIONS

Regulators need to make appropriate choices to avoid penalising first movers like Stena Bulk, Erik Hånell, president and CEO of Stena Bulk tells The Motorship

The rapid evolution of onboard carbon capture technology was one of the main topics when The Motorship interviewed Erik Hånell, president and CEO of Stena Bulk, at the end of last year. He was upbeat about the progress of an onboard carbon capture project and identified the potential for onboard carbon capture to result in net negative CO2 emissions as a potentially significant development.

Hånell also evaluated the wider alternative fuels landscape, and recognised nascent interest from producers in transporting alternative fuels as cargoes. However, Hånell concluded with a powerful call for regulators to ensure that new regulations do not perversely penalise the outcomes that they are trying to incentivise, or require subsequent amendment, to the detriment of early adopters, like Stena Bulk.

Hånell began by discussing Stena Bulk’s investments in dual-fuel methanol powered options for a number of vessels as part of a joint venture. “It's the only technological development that is commercially today that offers a clear pathway to zero emissions, at least from a theoretical point of view.”

Hånell outlined the potential for methanol to be produced via low-emission routes, such as electrolysis with the addition of carbon dioxide. “You can build something today that in theory can actually come down to zero CO2 emissions when the green methanol is produced [at the commercial volumes] that will be needed in the future.”

Stena Bulk is also closely following research into other alternative fuel technologies. “When it comes to comes to other alternatives such as ammonia or hydrogen, we expect that there will be some time before the technologies are ready, and there will also be a number of safety issues to deal with in that respect.”

Stena Bulk was also looking at the possibilities of transporting alternative fuels as cargoes. “We are definitely looking at it, and we have had a few producers looking at hydrogen [transportation], for example. But it is it is very complicated… given the [small] volumes we're talking about, and the technical requirements [minus 260 centigrade] around liquid hydrogen. I think it's very, very difficult for large vessels… even if the technology is going very fast.”

Hånell was more upbeat about the possibilities of onboard carbon capture and storage. Referring to the pace of technological development, Hånell noted that “the technology has moved from something that might be available in a decade to something that we will probably install on one of our ships later in 2023.” Stena Bulk was participating in a R&D project to install an onboard carbon capture and storage system on one of its MR tankers (REMARCCABLE).

Hånell noted that Stena Bulk was already looking at the possibility of installing onboard carbon capture and storage units on board its existing vessels, including its methanolfuelled fleet, if the technology can be successfully developed.

He noted that the carbon capture landscape was moving quickly. “In fact, discussions about the technology have moved from whether it is technically feasible to whether it will work in practice, and the proportion of CO2 that the solution will capture.“

The combination of onboard carbon capture with green methanol would also significantly reduce the emissions generated by a vessel. Hånell noted that the REMARCCABLE coalition was targeting at least 30% absolute CO2 capture in its trial installation, and that this ambition appeared to be achievable.

“By combining the use of green methanol as a fuel with carbon capture, we could theoretically operate vessels that have a negative CO2 emission footprint [on a well-to-wake basis],” Hånell said.

Hånell recognised that the technology would benefit from regulatory support, adding “as long as US and Europe agree to something, I think we will need to take action if you're going to be a global operator.”

However, Hånell also stressed that the industry would prefer that the decisions taken by the regulators make sense. “We have had had a couple of instances in the last decade, where initial decisions have actually been negative. I’m referring to the Ballast Water Treatment System and scrubbers regulations. I think it's very important to have decisions are well thought through, that actually work for the ambition that we have and that do not have to be changed after two or three years.” Hånell noted that this was particularly relevant for ‘first movers’ like Stena Bulk, where the first investments made might be “less useful”.

But in general, Hånell expressed a preference for selfregulation as a model for the industry. Stena Bulk’s investment into emissions reduction technology is selffinancing because emissions reductions typically lower the amount of fuel consumption as well. This was why Stena Bulk was continuing to invest in other efficiency developments, ranging from propellers to bulbs to the shape of the hull, he concluded.