New JV to provide LCO2 shipping solutions to European CCS projects

French industrial gases company Air Liquide and compatriot maritime firm Sogestran have signed an agreement to form a joint venture (JV) focused on providing large-scale liquid CO2 (LCO2) shipping and barging solutions.

According to partners, the LCO2 shipping solutions will be tailored to meet the needs of future carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects in Europe.

With this JV, Air Liquide expects to bolster its offering on the carbon management value chain, including capture, aggregation, processing and transport to permanent storage locations.

Under the agreement, the companies will combine their respective expertise to transport CO2 in its liquid form thanks to newly-designed shipping and barging solutions, invested and operated through mutual collaboration.

Commenting on the JV, Emilie Mouren-Renouard, a member of the Air Liquide Executive Committee, supervising Innovation and Development, said: “We are pleased to partner with Sogestran to offer innovative solutions in the new market of large volume CO2 transportation. This initiative complements our carbon management technologies to support our industrial customers in their decarbonisation strategies and illustrates Air Liquide’s commitment to actively contribute to the emergence of a low carbon society.”

Pascal Girardet, Sogestran’s CEO, added: “Air Liquide and Sogestran have built a strong relationship over the past years, working on reliable solutions for this emerging market, in line with our corporate strategy based on innovation. Our teams have worked hand-in-hand to design ships and barges able to safely and efficiently transport liquid CO2. This joint venture will be in a great position to offer the market solutions that will make a significant positive impact on the environment.”

Air Liquide is a part of the Porthos project for CO2 capture and storage in Rotterdam for which it signed the final contract together with Air Products, ExxonMobil and Shell in December 2021.

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