China's Dalian Shipbuilding (DSIC) has unveiled the first commercial vessel specializing in the transportation of liquefied carbon dioxide (CO2). Named Northern Pioneer, the vessel will be a key element of a large-scale carbon capture and storage (CCS) project, hi-tech.mail.ru reports.

The Northern Pioneer's technical specifications are 130 meters long, 21.2 meters wide, with a capacity of 7,500 cubic meters of CO2 per voyage. The engineering solutions make this vessel a real breakthrough in the field of environmentally friendly maritime transportation.

The vessel's uniqueness lies in its advanced dual-fuel LNG propulsion system, which significantly reduces the negative environmental impact. In addition, a rotor sail allows the use of wind power, which reduces carbon dioxide emissions by as much as 34%.

The project was realized by Northern Lights, a joint venture between energy giants Shell, Equinor and TotalEnergies. It is the world's first company to offer integrated CO2 transportation and storage services.

Northern Lights is part of the Norwegian Longship initiative approved by the national parliament. The project involves collecting carbon dioxide from industrial plants in Europe and transporting it to the Eygarden storage facility in Norway. The current storage capacity is 1.5 million tons of CO2 per year with potential for expansion.

The first partner in the project is the cement plant Heidelberg Materials in Norway, which has reserved 0.8 million tons of annual capacity. Further plans are in the works to attract other industrial sites from various European countries.

Northern Lights management believes that Northern Pioneer will start a new industry of environmentally friendly transportation solutions. Dalian Shipbuilding has already started construction of the second vessel, Northern Pathfinder.