Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage: How do we implement this concept in Indonesian maritime sector?

Dede Abdul Hasyir, Sustainability Researcher, Universitas Padjadjaran

The (ongoing) Paris Agreement

Paris Agreement has been much a progress in mitigating climate disaster around the globe, at commitment level. Most of countries define their pledge through a document called as NDCs or nationally determined contribution which state list of efforts of carbon reduction, along with proposal seeking for co-working strategy for future climate mitigation[1]. However, there has been a significant need to breakdown the reduction ‘obligation’ into sectors where carbon emissions occur. Recent publication of Ministry of Environment and Forestry shows that 59% of GHG[2] emission originated from energy sector, and the rest for about 25% and 11% were from AFOLU[3] and waste, respectively. Classification of sectors’ emission and the effort of each sector to reduce their emission level has not been correlated proportionately so far, since the very beginning of Paris Agreement. Offsetting carbon emission has not been clearly regulated as well, although the scenario of carbon trading[4] and carbon taxation[5] can be applied reciprocally. Correlating and offsetting mechanisms have not been well-developed so far due to the complexity of carbon issue as a whole, considering trans-national interest and pace of climate awareness building.

Meanwhile, blue carbon[6] economy has been considered to be more impactful carbon-offset mechanism compared to green carbon instrument or especially from carbon optimization in tropical rain forest, with four-times absorption capacity. Coastal area with mangrove ecosystem, is able to store and retain carbon in its root and sediment, particularly. Both blue and green carbon are part of NBS or nature-based solution in climate change mitigation. Furthermore, NBS is also another solution accompanying human effort to reduce carbon emission, i.e. technological advance. In sectors such as oil and gas, mining, and manufacturing, technological approach is applied either along with existing employed technology system, or through new technology investment with low or zero carbon as an externality factor.

AFOLU, energy, oil and gas, mining, and manufacturing aforementioned are ‘identified sectors’ that relate to global effort to bring down the climate disaster to a level that mankind can survive in the earth. The next question is: what about other sectors? Or, can we clearly identify and classify the sectors contributing to global climate change? These questions are essential in order to make sure that each country’s commitment or the NDCs can be implemented properly across all sectors emitting the GHG. Also, an appropriate accounting measurement is needed to count every sectors’ emission. Maritime sector for instance, if it is can be defined as a sector, probably consists of several subsectors, or would relate to transportation activities, as well as its connection to other industries that operate above and under the sea such as oil and gas, fisheries and even sea mining. Thus, measuring carbon ‘production’ can be viewed by both sector grouping and location sorting where such sectors operate.

Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage

During the period of its formation, earth experienced several times of climate change. The terminology mostly refers to a temperature increase in earth’s atmosphere, sea and surface. This stage is part of mother nature’s transformation to be livable by organisms. Concentration of GHG in the atmosphere is basically a shield which traps and retains heat from the sunlight, rather than releasing it to the space. The higher GHG concentration the higher earth’s temperature. However, the ancient climate change has something to do with geological process of the planet where GHG accumulation in the atmosphere is counterparted with carbon storage in every part of earth’s surface. Living trees capture CO₂ in their photosynthesis and store them in their root, trunk and other part of this creature. While deceased trees maintain their carbon storage along with peat fomation and earth geological episode[7]: forming a massive carbon storage[8] which is extracted by human today, i.e. coal. The same storage mechanism can be found in oil and gas formation which hypothetically derived from complex transformation of plankton, as well as the locus of carbon storage itself whether in the underground at land area or deep down in earth’s layer below the seabed.

Based on previous explanation, the keypoint of carbon storage is keeping the carbon ‘inside’ the earth itself, or say, preventing to release it to the athmosphere. For instance, bituminous[9] coal is used as coke in the iron smelting process and as an energy source in clinker combustion process in the cement industry. Carbon capture in those industries is an effort of catching carbon dioxide and storing it underground. However, the approach applied in cement and iron processing is through technological support, rather than the NBS mechanism which was mentioned before. Here, the two methodology is supposed to be implemented in other sectors in order to reduce the amount of carbon emission globally and totally. In other words, cement, iron and other industries may induce technology enhancement and at the same time, could plant certain woods in their factory area to harvest the oxygen. Simultaneous combination of both approaches is important since the impact of climate change is at high and higher speed.

The term CCS (carbon capture and storage) was initially the first idea which then expanded to CCUS (with utilization). CCUS is a technology that captures carbon dioxide from large emission sources such as power plants, oil refineries, and industrial plants. After capturing the carbon, industrial sectors do not immediately release it into the atmosphere. Instead, they utilize it for various industrial purposes or store it permanently underground. Many consider this technology a solution for energy transition because it allows industries to continue operating while reducing their carbon emissions. The simplest analogy for carbon capture is installing additional part in exhaust chimney in common manufacturing sector which doesn’t involve the use of raw materials with large amount of potential carbon emission like cement production. The urgency of CCS implementation has something to do with classification of sectors emission as stated in the background of this article, meaning that there will be a kind of cost and benefit calculation in its implementation compared to the carbon impact in an operation of a business or an entity.

 Maritime Sector and GHG Emission Reduction

Marine sector contributes to carbon capture through two main approaches: natural (blue carbon) and technological (CCS). The ocean naturally functions as a vital carbon sink, absorbing approximately one-third of human-generated CO₂ emissions over the past 200 years. Blue carbon refers to carbon absorbed and stored by coastal and marine ecosystems such as mangrove forests, seagrass beds, and brackish/salt marshes. Plants in these ecosystems photosynthesize, absorbing CO₂ from the atmosphere and water, and then storing it in underwater biomass and sediments, often more effectively than terrestrial forests. In addition to climate mitigation, these ecosystems protect coasts from erosion, purify water, and support biodiversity. Furthermore, marine sediments are one of the largest and severe carbon containers on the planet; hence, they have magnificient effect on climate change. Organic carbon buried in the sediments of the ocean can remain there for thousands to millions of years if left uninterrupted.

Here, there are two viewpoint concerning on causal relationship of GHG emission in the sea. Firstly, the effort of carbon emission reduction from present human activities and secondly, maintaining the stored carbon in the sea, especially in seafloor/sedimentation aforementioned. Thus, the second approach, i.e. CCS in marine sector is dedicated to help lessen the emission from both causes. CCS in marine sector technically involves effectuation of certain technology to capture CO₂ emitted from human activities in the sea and store it in geological formations beneath the seabed. Its brief process consists of capturing CO₂ from large emission sources, compressed, transported via pipeline or ship, and injected into rock formations deep beneath the seabed for permanent storage.

A thought which considers sea activities as a whole is truly essential, i.e. value chain of how GHG is emitted which involves many sectors or industries, as also proposed by the Von Thunen theory[10]. This would further raise a question: could the two approach mitigates the increasing carbon emmision both from human extraction on sea and ocean resources and human intteruption of buried carbon in the sea and ocean? The inquiry could then influence the most effective treatment of carbon management with the most affordable financing capacity. Financial consideration is connected to how succesful the applied program compared to budget limitation of corporate sector and the government itself. Moreover, the question would also trigger what kind of collaboration between countries in COPs forum. Engaging specific stakeholders is substantial since the boundary of sea activities consists of wider spectrum of parties in order to create shared-values. To be noted, the risk of failure in utilizing sea-basin to reserve captured carbon for is relatively high, forasmuch as the unpredictable physical and geological circumstances in the deep sea or ocean.

Onboard Carbon Capture (OCC)

The marine sector’s GHG emissions stand for nearly 3% of worldwide GHG emissions. A research found that ship emissions had raised, both in absolute terms and in its share to global carbon emissions. The CO₂e emissions from global shipping rose around 10% between 2012 and 2018. More inflicting were the estimated increases in short-lived climate pollutants, including a 12% increase in black carbon[11] (BC) emissions as well as a 150% increase in methane (CH₄) emissions, mostly due to a overflow in the number of ships fueled by liquefied natural gas (LNG). Many of the ships fueled by LNG have engines that allow unburned CH₄ to fadeout into the atmosphere through a process known as methane slip. Furthermore, despite a thorough betterment in carbon intensity compared with 2008, the study indicated that more than half of the improvement was achieved before 2012 and improvements had stagnated to 1% to 2% annually since 2015.

Onboard carbon capture (OCC) technology is also being explored to reduce emissions from the shipping industry. The OCC encompasses a range of technologies for capturing carbon dioxide emissions from ships during operation. For post-combustion systems, OCC involves cleaning the exhaust gas of CO₂, separating it, and storing it onboard for later offloading, in various forms depending on the technology (gas, liquid, or mineral). For pre-combustion, carbon is separated from the fuel to produce hydrogen and used in specialized energy conversion engines. The OCC can be an effective decarbonization measure, enabling the sustainable use of established maritime fuels. CCS application is well-known for land-based and offshore applications, but for shipping applications, it is still relatively new. With CCUS infrastructure under development, the use of carbon capture technology on board ships could be a crucial element in shipping decarbonization. Carbon capture and processing systems on board need to be integrated with other onboard systems, and CO₂ needs to be temporarily stored for later offloading to appropriate infrastructure. This will influence the design and layout of ships.

There are then several point to be considered in OCC implementation, i.e.:

• Additional energy and fuel consumption on board. The capture, separation, and liquefaction processes require energy and increase the power requirements of the ship’s engines.
• Optimal integration with ship systems. The onboard carbon capture system needs to be integrated with the onboard engines, optimizing energy utilization without disrupting ship operations.
• Location of capture and storage components. Equipment for capture, separation, liquefaction, and temporary storage requires extensive space, and careful consideration is needed for planning.
• Safety and performance/emission regulations. Systems need to be carefully designed and integrated on board to maximize performance and maintain ship safety.

 Closing Reflection

Effort on carbon emission reduction in many sector and particularly in maritime sector is truly challening. For future reasoning, Indonesia has significant potential for blue carbon management. Furthermore, Indonesia is considered as having enormous geological storage potential (especially in oil and gas basins), with an estimated capacity of hundreds of gigatons of CO₂, popping up opportunities to become a regional carbon storage center. The Indonesian government, through the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, is developing a regulatory framework to manage the economic value of carbon in the marine sector, including carbon trading, to optimize this potential within the national climate change mitigation strategy. Furtermore, collaboration strategy within internal and external stakeholder in maritime industry is far-reaching tool to improve the roadmap of climate crisis mitigation.

Reference

Davydov, Vladimir & Wardlaw, Bruce & Gradstein, Felix. (2005). The Carboniferous Period. A Geologic Time Scale 2004. 222-248. 10.1017/CBO9780511536045.016.

Hendriks, I., Sintes, T., Bouma, T., and Duarte, C. (2008). Experimental assessment and modeling evaluation of the effects of the seagrass. Posidonia oceanica on flow and particle trapping. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 356, 163–173. doi: 10.3354/meps07316.

Hero, Marin & Vidmar, Peter & Perkovic, Marko. (2024). Reduction of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions in the Maritime Sector. Časopis Pomorskog fakulteta Kotor – Journal of Maritime Sciences. 25. 61-72. 10.56080/jms241105.

Howard, J., Hoyt, S., Isensee, K., Pidgeon, E., and Telszewski, M. (eds). (2014). Coastal Blue Carbon: Methods for Assessing Carbon Stocks and Emission Factors in Mangroves, Tidal Salt Marshes, and Seagrass Meadows. Arlington, VA: Conservation International, Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO, International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Jing Wei, Tong Jiang, Philippine Ménager, Dong-Gill Kim, Wenjie Dong. (2025). COP29: Progresses and challenges to global efforts on the climate crisis, The Innovation, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2025, 100748, ISSN 2666-6758, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xinn.2024.100748.

Ministry of Forestry and Environment (2023). Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Inventory and Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) Report 2023.

Xiaoli Mao, Zhihang Meng, Bryan Comer, and Tom Decker (2025). Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Air Pollution from Global Shipping, 2016-2023. The ICCT (International Council on Clean Transportation).

[1] That is why, Paris Agreement is then followed of by several COPs (conference of the parties) sessions, and today’s meeting is COP-30 in Brazil, in front of Amazon forest!

[2] GHG and CO₂ are seemingly and frequently used as interchangeable term, since CO₂ molecule is the largest part of greeenhouse gases, i.e. recent global warming which comes from human activities, rather than past global warming from earth geological process with intensive carbon dioxide production. Methane is another ‘ancient’ GHG that also contributes significantly to the past and today’s climate change. Another type of ‘modern’ GHG are HFCs, PFCs, SF₆, CH₂Br₂, CHCl₃, and CH₂Cl₂.

[3] AFOLU: agriculture, forestry and land use.

[4] Carbon credit can be traded both in regular capital market such as IDX Carbon and VCM or voluntary carbon market.

[5] Carbon taxation scheme can be found in Undang-Undang Harmonisasi Perpajakan, year 2021.

[6] Blue carbon refers to carbon absorption and storage from sea and coastal ecosystem, meanwhile green carbon refers to that from the forest, especially tropical rain forest.

[7] Coalification in the carbon period of earth is basically the mass burial and deterioration of plantation with anaerobic process and complex chemical and physical conversion, 300 million years ago.

[8] Carbon period or the Carboniferous Period is a geological timescale that lasted from approximately 359 to 299 million years ago. It is located within the Paleozoic Era, or “Age of Old Animals.” The Carboniferous Period was marked by significant climate and environmental changes that were crucial to Earth’s evolution. It was marked by several significant events in Earth’s history. One key event was the emergence of massive forests that produced abundant fossil fuels such as coal and petroleum. These forests significantly increased atmospheric oxygen levels and reduced carbon dioxide concentrations, resulting in lower global temperatures and climate change.

[9] Bituminous refers to medium level quality of coal with estimated carbon compound between 45-86%.

[10] One of the concern of this theory is transportation cost where efficient sea connectivity might be considered as effort on reducing the expenditure of shipment.

[11] Black carbon (BC) is a component of fine particulate matter (PM ≤ 2.5 μm in aerodynamic diameter). BC consists of pure carbon in several related forms. It is formed through the incomplete combustion of fossil fuels, biofuels, and biomass, and is emitted in anthropogenic and naturally occurring soot.