NYK has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Hokkaido Electric Power Co., Inc. (“HEPCO”) to initiate a demonstration project in Tomakomai, Japan, related to an onboard carbon capture and storage (“OCCS”) technologies. Under this MoU, NYK and HEPCO will jointly conduct studies for a demonstration project to decarbonize maritime transport.

In the international maritime sector, efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from operational vessels are essential to achieving a decarbonized society. OCCS, which captures, liquefies, and stores CO₂ — the greenhouse gas with the highest emissions from vessels — has attracted growing attention in recent years as a promising option. At the same time, key challenges remain, including the optimal handling and storage of captured CO₂, appropriate unloading methods, and downstream processing.

Tomakomai has emerged as a leading region for carbon neutrality, already hosting large-scale CCS demonstration projects and various studies aimed at addressing these challenges. Building on this strong foundation, NYK, which is actively working to decarbonize international shipping, and HEPCO, which is pioneering the development of CCUS (carbon capture, utilization and storage) value chains, have agreed to combine their respective expertise and strengths to jointly study an OCCS demonstration project.

Under this initiative, NYK and HEPCO plan to conduct studies over a three-year period through fiscal year 2028 on the design and operation of demonstration equipment to be installed on the coal carrier Pirika Moshiri Maru, which is owned by NYK and operated for HEPCO. The scope of the study will also include appropriate methods for unloading captured CO₂ and exploring potential avenues for its utilization.

Through the joint studies conducted under this MoU, NYK aims to deepen its knowledge of OCCS technologies and pave the way for their broader social implementation, contributing significantly to the realization of a decarbonized society.