Optimisation of ship-based CO2 transport chains from Southern Europe to the North Sea

Among the technologies for climate change mitigation, carbon capture and storage is considered as a technically and economically viable option to reduce CO2 emissions from hard-to-abate industrial sectors. When it comes to CO2 logistics, ship-based chains are emerging as an attractive alternative to other CO2 transport modes (e.g., pipelines), as these could exhibit lower operational risk, higher infrastructural flexibility, and lower costs. This work provides insights into the cost of optimal ship-based CO2 transport chains at a European level, by proposing a detailed economic model of CO2 transport by ship, including all the echelons of the infrastructure (i.e., liquefaction, buffer storage, loading, ship, conditioning, and unloading). The final aim is to determine the minimum CO2 transport cost from Southern Europe to North Sea sequestration. Different unloading scenarios (port-to-port, port-to-floating storage and injection, and port-to-direct offshore unloading) and carbon reduction targets are investigated. The minimum unitary transport cost is 26 €/t of CO2 for transporting 103 Mt/y.