Project

Abstract:
The worldwide climate change is caused by the increased greenhouse gas (GHG) concentration in the atmosphere. To achevie the Paris Agreements 1.5 °C pathway the GHG carbon dioixde (CO2) must be reduced. Therefore according to the UN’s Climate Panel IPCC, a crucial tool to achieving the Paris Agreement is Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) which would be challenging to achieve without. CCUS is a technology where the CO2 emissions are reduced by capturing the CO2 and storing it in a geological site or utilising it for green fuel production. However, the CO2 cannot be stored or utilised if there is no connection between the capture site and the storage or utilisation site. Three primary forms of transportation are by trucks, ships or through pipelines. Pipeline transportation is the main way of transporting CO2. However, impurities like H2O, H2S, NOx, and SOx can compromise the transportation and cause corrosion or scaling, leading to huge economic costs, underlining the need for proper pipeline material selection and monitoring of these impurities. Furthermore, it is desired to limit the need for purification of the CO2 without having the risk of corrosion, becoming a cost balance between material and purification cost.
This PhD project will study the material integrity of the Carbon Capture Storage transportation infrastructure, focusing on the impurities and their negative impacts on the transportation infrastructure. Additionally, measure corrosion and monitor the impurities inside the CO2 transport pipeline.

Ferries are responsible for 0.8 million tons of greenhouse gas emission annually in Denmark and often sail close to cities where they add to the already critical air pollution levels. This holds especially true for small Danish municipalities, as diesel-driven ferries contribute up to 20 % to their total global warming contribution. Therefore, fully electric powered ferries are taking centre stage in Denmark. However, the current wide use of synthetic refrigerants (and their leaks into the atmosphere) in the maritime sector leads even 100 % electricity-powered ships not to be actually greenhouse gas emission free. In addition, currently the driving range of fully electric powered ferries is penalized due to the lack of an optimized heat pump system layout, suitable battery thermal management strategy and appropriate waste heat recovery approaches.

The objective of the ECO2-ferries project is to develop the first heat pump being completely tailored to 100 % electricity-powered ferries. The use of CO2 as a natural (i.e. future-proof) refrigerant of the heat pump will finally lead 100 % electricity-powered ferries to be actually greenhouse gas emission free ships. In addition, CO2 will allow for a compact heat pump and high safety levels (i.e. non-flammable and non-toxic). High energy performance will be guaranteed by the implementation of (i) an optimized system layout, (ii) a proper battery thermal management approach, (iii) a suitable heat recovery technique as well as (iv) an effective and robust overall control strategy.

The ECO2-ferries project will involve the University of Southern Denmark, Odense Maritime Technology and Marstal Navigationsskole as project partners and Danske Maritime, Danfoss A/S, BCOOL A/S, Danish Technological Institute, Ærø municipality and Ærøfærgerne as project supporters. The project has received funding from Den Danske Maritime Fond.