China’s Dalian Shipbuilding Industry (DSIC) has ordered MAN’s ME-GI dual-fuel engines for two LNG-powered CO2 carriers which will serve the Northern Lights joint venture in Norway.
In October last year, the JV consisting of Equinor, Shell and TotalEnergies said it has ordered the two dedicated liquid CO2 carriers, each with a cargo size of 7,500 cbm and a length of 130 meters.
Once in operation in 2024, the ships will load captured and liquefied CO2 from European emitters and transport it to the Northern Lights receiving terminal in Øygarden.
Phase one of the project includes a capacity of up to 1.5 million tonnes of CO2 per year but the partners plan to boost this to over 5 million tonnes.
Germany’s MAN Energy Solutions said on Wednesday the project’s LNG-fueled vessels would each feature MAN B&W 7S35ME-GI dual-fuel engine.
Also, each ME-GI engine would include MAN’s exhaust gas recirculation (EcoEGR) system.
The dual-fuel ME-GI engines will mainly run on LNG, but they will also feature other technologies such as a wind-assisted propulsion system and air lubrication.
According to MAN, these would reduce carbon intensity by around 34 percent compared to conventional systems.
The ships are the first of their kind and have the potential to set a new standard for CO2 shipping on coastal trading routes, it said.
Northern Lights is responsible for developing and operating CO2 transport and storage facilities as part of ‘Longship’, the Norwegian government’s CCS project.
MAN said the JV would create the first-ever, cross-border, open-source, CO2 transport and storage infrastructure network, offering European companies the opportunity to store their CO2 safely and permanently underground.
