Mitsubishi Shipbuilding launches demo LCO2 carrier
Mitsubishi Shipbuilding, a unit of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI), held a launch ceremony for a demonstration test ship for the transport of liquefied carbon dioxide (LCO2), MHI said on March 28.
The ship is to be utilised in conjunction with initiatives by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organisation (NEDO) for its demonstration projects. The ceremony was held at the Enoura Plant of MHI’s Shimonoseki Shipyard & Machinery Works in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture.
The Engineering Advancement Association of Japan (ENAA), one of the consignees for the NEDO demonstration projects, will charter the ship from Sanyu Kisen, and install and operate the LCO2 marine tank system used to conduct research and development.
Three additional project partners, K-Line, Nippon Gas Line, and Ochanomizu University, will be commissioned by ENAA to conduct R&D on the pressure control and stability of the LCO2 transported on the ship, and plan demonstration experiments, as well as develop and demonstrate technologies for safe and low-cost CO2 transport, MHI said.
Mitsubishi Shipbuilding is in charge of all aspects from the ship design through construction, including the cargo containment system, applying its gas handling technologies and expertise cultivated through the construction of liquefied gas carriers (both LPG and LNG types).
Representatives from Sanyu Kisen, Nippon Gas Line, and K-LINE attended the launch ceremony. Following outfitting and sea trials, the ship is scheduled to be handed over in the latter half of fiscal 2023.