Svanehøj to supply pumps for Northern Lights CO2 carriers

May 05 2022

The Danish marine pumps specialist has been awarded a contract to supply pump systems for two CO2 carriers that will transport liquid CO2 to the Northern Lights storage facilities in Norway.

Proven experience with CO₂ pumps makes the difference.

Northern Lights is developing infrastructure to transport CO₂ from industrial emitters in Norway and other European countries by ship to a receiving terminal in western Norway for intermediate storage, before being transported by pipeline for permanent storage in a geological reservoir 2,600 metres under the seabed.

Operations are scheduled to start in 2024. The first two CO₂ carriers are now being built for this purpose, with Danish supplier Svanehøj chosen as the supplier of the pump systems that will handle the liquid CO₂.

“We have won the order through our long-standing partner, TGE Marine, which designs and delivers complete Cargo Handling Systems for the CO₂ carriers. TGE has chosen our deepwell cargo gas pumps, which they are very familiar with from numerous LPG tankers”, says Thomas Uhrenholt Nielsen, Sales Director, Cargo Gas at Svanehøj.

Decades of experience with CO₂ ships opens doors

Carbon Capture & Storage (CCS) has been recognised as an essential element in achieving global climate goals. According to the Global CCS Institute’s report “Global status of CCS 2021”, the pipeline of CCS projects grew by 48% from 2020 to 2021. At the end of 2021, there were 35 projects under development in Europe alone. We are therefore seeing an increasing focus on companies experienced in handling liquid CO₂. Svanehøj features prominently here, as the company has been supplying cargo pump systems for CO₂ carriers since the late 1990s.

“Thanks to our experience from the relatively few CO₂ ships built so far, we are part of the dialogue on several of the upcoming CCS projects. CCS is a focus area in our business strategy, and the order from TGE for Northern Lights is therefore of great strategic importance. This could be a big market for us within the next few years”, says Thomas Uhrenholt Nielsen.

Svanehøj has entered 2022 with a new strategy entitled "Powering a better future" and a target of doubling its turnover to DKK 1 billion (approx. $143 million) by the end of 2026. The strategy is primarily focused on supporting the transition to climate-neutral shipping, but also on investing in new business areas, including CCS.

The two CO₂ carriers for the Northern Lights project are being built at Dalian Shipbuilding (DSIC) in China and are expected to be operational in 2024. Both vessels will have a capacity of 7,500 m³ of liquid CO₂. Svanehøj will deliver two deepwell cargo pumps of 15 metres for each ship. In this project, Svanehøj's multigas technology will be shown to its full potential, as the customer wants the pumps to also be used for handling LPG natural gas. Over the years, Svanehøj has supplied cargo pump systems to more than 1,100 LPG tankers around the world.