Green ambitions
Samsung Engineering’s green ambitions are clearly set out on the company website: “In accordance with the fast-developing energy shift paradigm, we are expanding our business in the green solution area to offer various solutions. We provide solutions that support the circular economy, such as optimized consulting services for greenhouse gas reduction and energy efficiency improvement; carbon management solutions such as carbon, capture, utilization and storage; hydrogen (clean energy) solutions including the production, conversion and utilization of green and blue hydrogen; and bio plastic and plastic recycling aimed at addressing plastic waste issues.”
The company’s goals were firmly underscored in the first week of October, when it announced two separate agreements as regards carbon capture.
Developing CCUS for Asia & Middle East
Firstly, a memorandum of understanding was signed with Svante Technologies Inc. to develop and deliver commercial carbon capture, utilization and storage projects in Asia and the Middle East, targeting hard-to-abate heavy industries including cement, steel, hydrogen, fertilizer and more, using Svante’s novel solid sorbent-based carbon capture filter technology. The two companies also plan to explore design iterations of Svante’s post-combustion carbon capture machines. The MoU was signed on October 4th during the ADIPEC 2023 conference in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
An important goal for Samsung Engineering is to become a ‘’Beyond EPC – Green Solution Provider’. The company indicates it is working to transform itself from not only a conventional EPC player but also a green solutions provider, taking meaningful actions to decarbonize its own operations. “The time is now for the CCUS industry value chain players to rethink how they approach projects to deliver them faster, cheaper, and more efficiently. Undertaking multiple projects in parallel while using the same EPC contractor will greatly improve project performance”, said Hong Namkoong, President & CEO of Samsung Engineering.
“Structured adsorbent beds” from Svante
Svante states it has developed a unique, environmentally responsible carbon capture and removal technology, which employs what it calls “structured adsorbent beds”, known as “filters”. The company’s filters are coated with nanoengineered solid adsorbent materials and can be used to capture CO2 from industrial emissions that come from the production of difficult-to-decarbonize, heavily relied-on commodities, including cement, steel, fertilizer, hydrogen, and more. The company’s filter technology can also be used for direct air capture (DAC), in which CO2 that has already been emitted into the atmosphere is trapped and removed from ambient air.
“We are delighted to welcome Samsung both as a strategic commercial collaborator and an investor in Svante, alongside our other strategic value chain partners and investors”, said Claude Letourneau, Svante’s President and CEO. “Samsung Engineering’s 50+ years of execution experience across the energy and industrial sectors will be invaluable as we continue to rapidly scale our operations and filter manufacturing capacity.”
One of the objectives of this collaboration is to offer industrial customers a one-stop-shop via an integrated project delivery model for carbon capture plants. This collaborative approach to building large industrial facilities is shown to be effective at optimizing industrial project management and performance.
Marine Carbon Capture solutions
During the same week in October, Samsung Engineering revealed details of a Joint Development Agreement (JDA) with Carbon Clean, a global leader in point source carbon capture solutions. The intention is to explore opportunities for Onboard Carbon Capture solutions (OCCS) projects.
Onboard carbon capture is expected to play a vital role in tackling emissions from shipping in the mid-term by enabling ships to capture the CO2 they emit while operating – plugging the gap while low-carbon fuels, such as green ammonia, methanol and hydrogen, and the associated onshore infrastructure, are developed and scaled up.in October
CycloneCC for ships
The JDA will focus on optimising Carbon Clean’s modular carbon capture technology, CycloneCC, for use onboard ships. With equipment understood to be ten times smaller than a conventional carbon capture unit and a 50% smaller footprint, CycloneCC is well suited to the marine environment where space is extremely limited.
Giving a sense of perspective, Aniruddha Sharma, Chair and CEO of Carbon Clean stated: “Accounting for 3% of global CO2 emissions, decarbonising the shipping industry plays a significant role in the net zero puzzle. I look forward to our partnership with Samsung Engineering to offer carbon capture onboard ships. Carbon Clean’s breakthrough modular carbon capture technology, CycloneCC, is ideally suited for use on ships given its 10 times equipment size reduction and high performance. Carbon Clean is focused on delivering technology for all hard-to-abate industries, including the maritime industry, and I am looking forward to delivering real solutions to the shipping industry with Samsung Engineering as our strategic partners.”
