Japan's K Line, KEPCO to study liquefied CO2 shipping options

(Reuters) - Japanese transportation company Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (K Line) and Kansai Electric Power Co (KEPCO) have agreed to study marine transportation options for liquefied CO2 emitted by KEPCO's plants, part of Japan's goal to reach carbon neutrality by 2050.

The memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed on Thursday would focus on options to ship liquefied CO2 for developing carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) value chain for KEPCO's thermal power plants, K Line said in a statement.

CCS technology removes CO2 emissions from the atmosphere and stores them underground, and is essential in achieving environmental targets of Japan and other developed nations.

Last year, KEPCO signed a MoU with Japanese shipping company Mitsui O.S.K Lines to study development of a CCS value chain which would include separation, capture, transportation, injection and storage of carbon dioxide emitted from KEPCO's thermal power plants.

(Reporting by Katya Golubkova;Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)