MOL and KEPCO sign service agreement on Development of Liquefied CO2 Carrier Design for CCS Value Chain

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL; President & CEO: Takeshi Hashimoto; Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo) and The Kansai Electric Power Co., Inc. (KEPCO; President: Nozomi Mori; Headquarters: Osaka-shi, Osaka Prefecture) today announced the signing of a service agreement1 to conduct feasibility research on the design of a liquefied CO₂ carrier at shipyards in Japan and overseas.

The detailed research and study of the carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS)2 value chain, including shipyards, is a pioneering effort for other business operators that emit CO₂.

The agreement follows the completion of an initial joint study on liquefied CO₂ transport, based on a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the two companies, by which MOL and KEPCO have been jointly studying the optimal system for ocean transport and storage of liquefied CO₂, targeting CO₂ emitted from KEPCO's thermal power plants to establish a CCS value chain.3

Under the service agreement, the companies will conduct the studies of an optimal ship size for the CCS value chain to be constructed by KEPCO, with the aim of realizing ocean transport of liquefied CO₂.

The companies will accelerate actions toward the realization of a zero-carbon society through full-scale surveys and studies aimed at the realization of liquefied CO₂ vessels, which will play a key role in the development of the CCS value chain.