Saipem to use MHI technologies in CO2 capture plants

Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) has concluded a general license agreement (GLA) with Italian engineering company Saipem under which MHI will provide Saipem with its proprietary KM CDR Process™ and Advanced KM CDR Process™ technologies for use in CO2 capture plants.

MHI has been collaborating with Saipem for many years in relation to the latter’s ‘Snamprogetti™ Urea technology,’ resulting in the construction of fertiliser plants, and according to MHI, through this new collaboration in CCUS (carbon capture, utilisation, and storage), a structure is in place enabling the execution of CO2 capture plants making use of the two partners’ respective strengths.

MHI said the new collaboration is aimed at expanding sales of CO2 capture plants to Saipem’s core business fields, especially in Europe and the Middle East where demand of decarbonisation would be increasing in the years ahead. Additionally, the cooperation can be expected to further advance MHI’s global CCUS strategy, Japan’s major pointed out.

Kenji Terasawa, CEO and Head of Engineering Solutions, MHI, said: “We are pleased to be partnering with Saipem, with whom we have had a longstanding relationship in other fields, in the CO2 capture business. With this agreement, we would like to collaborate with Saipem for numerous projects in Europe and the Middle East, etc., to lead a global CCUS market growth as an innovative solutions provider. We will accelerate the CO2 capture business and create a CCUS value chain in order to achieve a carbon-neutral society.”

Fabrizio Botta, Saipem’s CCO, commented: “This agreement, signed with a key partner such as Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, allows Saipem to combine its expertise and track record in designing and building upstream, midstream and downstream facilities with the most advanced post-combustion technology for large plants. This enables Saipem to further consolidate its position and expand its portfolio of solutions in the decarbonisation sector.”

To note, MHI has been developing the KM CDR Process™ and Advanced KM CDR Process™ in collaboration with Kansai Electric Power (KEPCO) since 1990. As of April 2023, MHI said it has delivered 15 plants adopting the KM CDR Process™, and three more are currently under construction.

MHI explained that the Advanced KM CDR Process™ uses KS-21™, which incorporates technological improvements over the amine-based KS-1™ solvent adopted at all 15 of the commercial CO2 capture plants MHI has delivered to date, and it offers superior regeneration efficiency and lower deterioration than the KS-1™. Additionally, it has been verified to provide excellent energy-saving performance, reduce operating costs, and result in low amine emissions, MHI pointed out.

At the end of 2022, ExxonMobil deployed MHI’s technology as part of its end-to-end CCS (carbon capture and storage) solution for industrial customers, and at the time, with support from KEPCO, the companies agreed to work together to advance the technologies.