Aker Solutions, Knutsen NYK Carbon Carriers (KNCC), a joint venture of Knutsen Group and NYKLine, and Vår Energi CCS AS, the project’s operator, have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to advance the Trudvang CO2 transportation and storage project in the Norwegian North Sea.
The partnership will combine KNCC’s specialized CO2 carriers equipped with dynamic positioning systems, with Aker Solutions’ techno-economic expertise, technical solutions and CCS EPC capabilities to support the design of an unmanned CO2 injection platform that enables direct offshore batch injection.
According to Aker Solutions, the concept is designed for scalability and replicability, enabling initial injection volumes of approximately 2 million tons per annum (Mtpa), with the potential to scale to over 20 Mtpa.
The three parties will work together to optimize the technical and commercial framework for the project, focusing on joint engagement with customers, regulators, and other stakeholders to strengthen market confidence, as well as flexible logistics to develop CO2 transportation scenarios for both medium pressure (MP) and elevated pressure (EP) modes to accommodate different value chain requirements.
The MoU also implies the partners will focus on infrastructure optimization on the unmanned platform designs and subsea solutions to minimize the environmental footprint and reduce operational costs and direct offshore injection to mature the interface between CO2 vessels and offshore receiving facilities and ensure safe operations in the North Sea environment.
Trudvang, the company that holds the EXL007 CO2 license awarded by the Norwegian Ministry of Energy in September 2023 , is owned by Vår Energi CCS with 40% equity, INPEX Idemitsu Norge with 30% equity and Storegga Norge with 30%. The project will inject CO2 into the Utsira Formation CO2 storage site on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS).