UK's non-pipeline carbon transport: what industry leaders need to address

Nina Lynn (Navigator Gas). Source; Riviera News

The United Kingdom’s non-pipeline transport (NPT) ambitions for carbon dioxide face challenges industry presentations rarely acknowledge publicly. While government policy focuses on tracks one and two, a different reality is emerging for projects that must ship rather than pipe their captured carbon – one the Non-pipeline transport in the UK: Commercial realities and cross-chain risk management spotlight interview at the 17 June CO2 Shipping & Terminals 2025 will finally address head-on.

Taking place at London’s Hilton Waldorf, this session fits perfectly within the conference’s 2025-2035: The decade of delivery theme, as the maritime industry grapples with establishing its role in CO2 transport and enabling CCUS projects. What makes NPT fundamentally different from established pipeline models? The answer lies in complexities that feasibility studies are only beginning to reveal. Recent collaborations between major industry players have exposed financing gaps and risk allocation problems that pose a challenge to traditional banking.

Government intervention strategies remain under wraps, but forthcoming policy consultations will need to address uncomfortable questions about taxpayer risk and cross-border subsidisation. The pending UK-EU Emissions Trading System linkage – a key focus area for the conference’s regulatory landscape discussions – adds uncertainty that private investors are struggling to price. Industry insiders suggest revenue support mechanisms may need complete reimagining for NPT to achieve commercial viability.

Technical hurdles compound these commercial challenges. Port infrastructure requirements may differ dramatically from what current policy assumes, while emitter locations create logistical problems that few are discussing openly. The shipping time charter models being proposed may require adjustment under expected payment structures, forcing the industry to confront whether existing approaches can scale beyond demonstration projects.

Perhaps most significantly, shifting from today’s emitter-focused arrangements to future aggregator models could concentrate risks in ways that make projects unattractive to lenders. Industry veterans familiar with both pipeline and shipping approaches will share insights that could determine what challenges face NPT in its market creation phase in the UK.

source: Riviera News