Top Page > Press Release 2023 > MOL and KEPCO Sign Service Agreement on Development of Liquefied CO2 Carrier Design for CCS Value Chain

MOL and KEPCO Sign Service Agreement on Development of Liquefied CO2 Carrier Design for CCS Value Chain

November 14, 2023

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd.
The Kansai Electric Power Co., Inc

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.

1  Please refer to the following for an overview of this service agreement.

2  Carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) is a technology that captures CO2 from exhaust gas and stores it underground.

3  Please refer to the following press release.
December 23, 2022: MOL and KEPCO to Study CO2 Ocean Transport for Development of CCS Value Chain

<Objective and Summary>

  • Identify issues such as optimal ship size, transport costs, and necessary technologies for ocean transport, which is the process after the separation, capture, and storage of CO2 emitted from specific points, including KEPCO's thermal power plants, with the aim of realizing ocean transport of liquefied CO2 as quickly as possible.
  • Conduct feasibility research related to the design, etc. of the liquefied CO2 vessel at shipyards.

<Outline of service contract (image)>