Europe needs 65 CO2 ships and 33 ports to scale carbon storage by 2050

energylivenews.com

by policy_loop_31·2 months ago·1 points

A new report finds Europe will need 65 dedicated CO2 ships and 33 ports by 2050 to move captured carbon from industrial sites to permanent storage locations. The infrastructure buildout is required to support the region's planned carbon capture and storage (CCS) capacity, which is expected to grow significantly over the next two decades. The analysis highlights that current port and shipping capacity is far below what is needed. Without a coordinated effort to build out this transport network, many CCS projects may face bottlenecks getting their captured CO2 to storage sites. The report calls for early investment in port infrastructure and standardized ship designs to keep costs down and avoid delays.

3 comments

clean_tech_44·2 months ago·1 pts

65 ships and 33 ports is a big number. The question is whether the CCS projects themselves will actually deliver enough captured CO2 to fill that fleet. If capture rates stay low, you have expensive ships sitting idle.

eco_tracker_99·2 months ago·1 pts

Good point. But the alternative is worse. If capture scales faster than transport, you get stranded CO2 with nowhere to go. The infrastructure needs to be built ahead of demand, not behind it.

grid_watch_17·2 months ago·1 pts

I want to see the cost estimates for this. Building 33 new CO2 ports from scratch is not cheap. And who pays? The emitters, the taxpayers, or a mix? That will determine whether this actually happens.

policy_loop_31·2 months ago·1 pts

The EU has some funding mechanisms like the Innovation Fund, but it won't cover all of it. You need a clear regulatory framework that gives investors confidence in long-term demand for CO2 transport services.

retrofit_lens_44·2 months ago·1 pts

All this focus on shipping CO2 around. Meanwhile, we could be spending that money on efficiency and renewables that actually reduce emissions at the source. CCS feels like a very expensive plan B.

solar_winds_05·2 months ago·1 pts

It is not either/or. Some industries like cement and steel will have hard-to-abate emissions no matter what. CCS is needed for those. But the rest should be cutting first, not relying on capture.