ABS has granted approval in principle to an innovative liquefied carbon dioxide (LCO2) floating storage and injection unit (FSIU) designed by MODEC, Inc. (MODEC) in collaboration with Mitsui OSK Lines Ltd. (MOL).
Tailored to the growing demands of the global carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) value chain, the design eliminates the need for onshore facilities, bringing LCO2 storage and injection offshore.
With a design capable of injecting up to 10 million tonnes of CO2 annually and featuring a minimum total tank storage capacity of 100,000 cubic meters, the FSIU delivers a solution built to scale with global carbon capture efforts. ABS completed design reviews based on class and statutory requirements.
“Carbon capture is advancing rapidly, with the International Energy Association projecting global capacity to reach 435 million tonnes per year by 2030. Floating storage and injection units, such as MODEC’s innovative design, will be important for enabling the safe and efficient sequestration of captured carbon. This concept is a step forward in delivering the global carbon value chain and ABS is proud to support its development,” said Miguel Hernandez, ABS Senior Vice President, Global Offshore.
Designed to operate directly at the injection site, the unit receives low-pressure LCO2 from transport carriers, converts it to high-pressure storage onsite, and then injects it into subsea wells for permanent storage. This offshore process reduces reliance on land-based infrastructure and enables flexible deployment across various injection sites.
Key features of MODEC’s design include tandem loading at the aft combined with simultaneous side-by-side loading at the midship port side, enabling continuous injection operations without interruption. To minimize emissions from its own operations, the FSIU incorporates diesel engine generators integrated with onboard carbon capture technology.
Arata Kamishohara, VP Business and Project Development at MODEC noted: “While this FSIU is a new concept, each component on the unit is not necessarily new to MODEC. MODEC has experience with CO2 injection (removed from pre-combustion produced gas) and dual (oil) offloading system. All the utility systems are similar to what we do on FPSOs every day. We collaborated with MOL, who cover the transportation portion of CCUS value chain, for interfaces between LCO2 carriers and the FSIU. With this, we are planning to achieve $5/tCO2 or less, which I don’t think is a stretch target.”