Aker Carbon Capture’s modularized offshore facility wins DNV’s stamp of approval

Norwegian company focused on capturing CO2 emissions, Aker Carbon Capture, has revealed that DNV qualified its modularized carbon capture facility for offshore installations, which is expected to cut emissions from oil and gas production.

Aker Carbon Capture disclosed on Tuesday that the modular technology Just Catch Offshore was qualified by DNV. It is now ready to be deployed in offshore oil and gas fields where the firm’s “proprietary solution can significantly reduce emissions” from offshore power generation. 

The firm explains that oil and gas production is “a significant source” of CO2 emissions, adding that the industry accounted for 25 per cent of Norway’s total emissions in 2021, according to Statistics Norway. Bearing this in mind, the operators are looking for ways to reduce their emissions and offshore CCS is emerging as “a competitive alternative.”

Jørg Aarnes, Global Lead, Hydrogen and CCS, Energy Systems at DNV, remarked: “DNV’s recently published Energy Transition Outlook report reveals that carbon capture and storage (CCS) is indispensable for global decarbonisation efforts, across multiple industry sectors.

“We are pleased to provide validation of the technology in a frontier application area – power generation in the offshore sector. DNV has validated that Aker Carbon Capture’s modular technology Just Catch Offshore can capture CO2 from flue gas stemming from turbines on floating offshore installations.”

Aker Carbon Capture has been working on developing the Just Catch Offshore since 2018, optimising and maturing the product through concept studies with E&P and FPSO operators in the oil and gas industry. According to the qualification, the offshore facility is considered fit for harsh weather conditions with severe motions. The Norwegian player underlines that this facility is now ready for “a traditional field development project path,” including a FEED phase, EPC delivery and operational support.  

Valborg Lundegaard, Aker Carbon Capture’s CEO, commented: “This successful qualification further strengthens the trust from the global offshore market in our Just Catch Offshore offering. Given its extensive experience in qualification procedures, DNV’s statement offers strong value to both our partners and us. CCS will be an important tool to help decarbonise the oil & gas industry, reducing emissions from gas turbines. CCS can also offer the industry an energy- and cost-efficient way of utilising the available energy resources by avoiding large electric transmission loss across the onshore grid.”

The company’s Just Catch Offshore offering is based on a modularized design with two standard units of 120 and 180 kTPA as building blocks, which are typically configured and installed into one module. Aker Carbon Capture believes that the capacity can be increased and adjusted in accordance with the specific requirements by combining modules, providing “significant flexibility towards capture capacity and power demand.” The Just Catch onshore model is seen as “an important starting point” for the development of the Just Catch Offshore solution.

Jim Stian Olsen, Chief Technology Officer at Aker Carbon Capture, stated: “As the offshore environment and the design criteria are different from our land-based applications, we found it necessary to undertake a qualification programme for our Just Catch Offshore unit. The need to include other materials, as well as the necessity to handle and maintain the plant performance during severe motions have been important criteria for further design adjustments.”

Aker Carbon Capture is currently delivering a Just Catch EPC project for Twence’s waste-to-energy facility in Hengelo, the Netherlands. The Norwegian firm outlines that its modularized solution can fit into any type of application where gas turbines are present, bottom fixed as well as floating production facilities, such as FPSOs, FLNG, power hubs and offshore power gas plants.  
 
“The CCS module will typically be prefabricated and be made mechanical complete before lifted onboard onto the host facility at the integration yard for further hook-up to the gas turbine stacks, with a delivery time of 20-24 months. The CCS plant capacity is fitted to an offshore facility with several turbines in operation. Various gas turbine models are now considered compatible with our capture units,” added Olsen.

Aker Carbon Capture highlights that gas turbines used for offshore power generation can be “an efficient local source of energy,” covering the electrical and heat demand for both the offshore host facility, as well as for the carbon capture process.

“The energy efficiency can exceed 80 per cent when utilising all waste heat from the turbine exhaust. By implementing CCS instead of power from shore, there is no large electrical transmission loss across the onshore grid, and onshore power can be utilised elsewhere. Where local storage is available, the investment cost of CCS can compete with the cost of a PFS solution in several field developments,” concluded Lundegaard. 

When it comes to Aker Carbon Capture’s recent activities elsewhere, it is worth noting that the Norwegian player is the carbon-capture partner of the consortium, which secured a FEED contract in June 2022 for SSE Thermal and Equinor’s proposed gas-to-power plant equipped with carbon capture technology.

This has the potential to become “the UK’s first power station with carbon capture and storage.”