MODEC teams up with Samsung to equip FPSO with ‘groundbreaking’ carbon capture tech

Japanese giant MODEC has signed a front-end engineering and design (FEED) contract with engineering company Samsung E&A for a pilot project to install a modular carbon capture technology developed by U.K.’s Carbon Clean on MODEC’s floating, production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) unit.

According to MODEC, this will be the first-of-a-kind deployment of this type of technology in an onboard carbon capture setting as well as the first-of-a-kind post-combustion carbon capture (PCC) implementation to operating FPSOs on a retrofit basis. Carbon Clean believes its CycloneCC technology is well suited to an offshore maritime environment since the unit is up to 50% smaller than conventional solutions.

Koichi Matsumiya, MODC’s Chief Technical Officer, said: “MODEC is proactively pursuing two targets through our R&D activities. One is to provide a stable energy supply to society with minimum GHG emission, and another is to prepare for new floater solutions to bridge the society with alternative energies from oil and gas. We believe that the carbon capture technology proposed by Carbon Clean will be the key to achieve both of our targets.”

The UK player is set to provide FEED support to Samsung E&A, including equipment supply of the rotating packed bed (RPB) technology forming part of CycloneCC and process design package (PDP) licensing for the unit. Samsung E&A will be in charge of the engineering aspect to optimize CycloneCC for the offshore environment and FPSO’s conditions.

Cheon Hong Park, Executive Vice President and Head of the Sustainable Solutions Division at Samsung E&A, said: “This initiative aligns with our company’s mission to address societal challenges through our technological solutions. It marks a significant milestone with the first application of Carbon Clean’s innovative carbon capture technology in the marine industry.”

The UK player claims its recently launched CycloneCC C1 series delivers a height reduction of 70% compared to column-based technologies, which it says improves capture performance under vessel motions compared to columns.

“We’re proud to deliver this groundbreaking, first-of-a-kind project with industry leaders SAMSUNG E&A and MODEC. Onboard carbon capture is essential for decarbonizing offshore oil and gas operations,” noted Aniruddha Sharma, Chair and CEO of Carbon Clean.

“Our highly modular CycloneCC technology is 10x smaller than conventional solutions, making it ideal for confined spaces, including floating vessels and maritime settings. Its replicable, scalable design makes it logistically and commercially viable to be deployed across a fleet at a fraction of the cost of traditional amine systems.”

MODEC says the carbon capture project is in line with the goal of reducing CO2 emissions in its FPSO operations forming part of its Vision 2034 plan. The next stage may entail the installation of a commercial, scaled-up CycloneCC unit on MODEC’s FPSO fleet.

Earlier this week, the Japanese player’s 370-meter-long FPSO Bacalhau reached Brazil where it is set to work at Equinor’s Bacalhau field. The vessel can produce 220,000 barrels per day and uses a new hull design developed by MODEC.