Tue, 07 April, 2026
There is still time to join as a sponsor of the MARCO2 project, which will investigate materials performance in liquid CO2 for maritime transport.
Large-scale carbon capture and storage (CCS) developments have driven advances in the deployment of liquid CO2 (LCO2) transport in the maritime sector. However, there is still a need for robust technical evidence to ensure safe, reliable, and economically optimised shipboard storage and transport.
The current requirements of the International Code for the Construction and Equipment of Ships Carrying Liquefied Gases in Bulk, IMO circulars, and related standards have limited provision for corrosion testing and materials qualification for carbon steels that are exposed to impurity-containing liquid CO2 under representative maritime service conditions.
The MARCO2 joint industry project (JIP) aims to address this gap through the delivery of a comprehensive framework to provide assurance in material selection and performance, safeguarding both asset integrity and environmental safety.
Uncertainty regarding the impact of impurities on LCO2 phase behaviour, corrosion kinetics, and materials compatibility has driven highly conservative design and operational constraints, with current industry guidance for LCO2 transport relying heavily on project-specific impurity specifications.
The conservative limits increase system complexity and capital and operational costs while elevated concentrations of SOx, NOx, O2, H2S, and H2O can accelerate localised corrosion, promote stress corrosion cracking and drive materials degradation, leading to an increase in inspection and maintenance demands and the risk of corrosion-induced failures.
You can find out more about this JIP, including a downloadable PDF presentation, here:
https://www.twi-global.com/what-we-do/research-and-technology/research-programmes/joint-industry-projects/materials-performance-in-liquid-co2-for-maritime-transport-marco2