From Patent to Platform: The New IP Logic of Offshore Carbon Capture
Offshore carbon capture is moving from technical possibility to industrial deployment. MODEC, Samsung E&A and Carbon Clean are working to integrate the compact CycloneCC system into a Floating Production, Storage and Offloading vessel. The project combines patented carbon capture technology, licensed process design, complex offshore engineering and operational knowledge from real FPSO environments. Its significance reaches far beyond a single pilot installation. The collaboration shows how GreenTech becomes scalable when protected technology is translated into a repeatable deployment architecture. The decisive IP questions concern ownership of improvements, access to operational data, control of integration know-how and the rights required to reproduce the solution across future vessels. This makes the project a revealing case of how IP enables cooperation, accelerates learning and turns an invention👉 A novel method, process or product that is original and useful. into an industrial platform.
Background material on the IPBA Connect platform
IP as the control layer of sustainable innovation👉 Practical application of new ideas to create value.: “GreenTech in Motion – How IP is Becoming the Control Layer of Sustainable Innovation”.
Every GreenTech collaboration creates a control question: “The GreenTech Strategy Gap”
Distinguish clearly between background and foreground IP: “The Role of IP in Procurement and Collaboration Contracts: Why Ownership Clarity Determines the Success of Innovation Projects”
Licensing👉 Permission to use a right or asset granted by its owner. as a strategic IP management👉 Strategic and operative handling of IP to maximize value. capability: “Licensing as a Strategic IP Management Capability”
The practical knowledge required for repeatable deployment: “Know-how Management”
A First-of-a-Kind Carbon Capture Project at Sea
In February 2025, MODEC announced a Front End Engineering and Design contract with Samsung E&A for an offshore carbon capture pilot project. The plan is to install Carbon Clean’s modular CycloneCC technology on a Floating Production, Storage and Offloading vessel, commonly known as an FPSO. The project is intended to become the first deployment of CycloneCC in an onboard carbon capture environment and the first retrofit application of post-combustion carbon capture on an operating FPSO.
Carbon Clean will support the FEED work, supply the Rotating Packed Bed equipment at the heart of CycloneCC and license a Process Design Package for the unit. Samsung E&A will conduct the engineering required to optimise the system for the offshore environment and the specific boundary conditions of a MODEC vessel. Each participant therefore contributes a capability that the other two cannot provide independently.
Carbon Clean supplies the protected carbon capture technology. Its CycloneCC system uses Rotating Packed Bed technology to intensify the chemical absorption process. According to the companies, the system requires up to 50 percent less space than conventional carbon capture solutions, while its largest pieces of equipment can be approximately ten times smaller. The C1 series also reduces equipment height by around 70 percent compared with conventional column-based systems.
These characteristics are particularly important on a floating vessel. Space, weight, centre of gravity and motion affect every engineering decision. A conventional carbon capture installation may function perfectly on land and still prove unsuitable for an offshore platform because the physical footprint, height or weight cannot be accommodated safely.
Samsung E&A contributes the capability required to convert the protected technology into an operable offshore installation. The company has completed more than 1,500 projects and covers activities ranging from feasibility studies and process design to procurement, construction, commissioning, operation and maintenance. Its role is to translate the Process Design Package into a vessel-specific engineering solution that can be constructed, operated and maintained under offshore conditions.
MODEC contributes the FPSO, its technical standards and its operational experience. The company designs, constructs, owns and operates floating production systems for offshore oil and gas projects. This gives MODEC detailed knowledge of vessel layouts, operating profiles, safety requirements, maintenance conditions and the commercial expectations of offshore operators.
The pilot was initially targeted for installation in 2026. A subsequent agreement between MODEC and Carbon Clean outlined a possible progression from the pilot to a commercial system capturing up to 100,000 tonnes of CO₂ per year, followed by a fully integrated solution with a capacity of approximately 300,000 tonnes per year. MODEC’s February 2026 investor presentation confirmed that development work for deploying CycloneCC on FPSOs was continuing, although the public sources reviewed do not yet confirm completion of the pilot installation.
At first sight, the project appears to be a conventional engineering assignment in which a carbon capture system is adapted to a new environment. Its wider significance becomes visible when the project is viewed as an attempt to combine patented technology, process design, engineering capability and operational experience in a solution that can eventually be deployed repeatedly across an entire class of industrial assets. This makes the project a particularly instructive IP management case.
Offshore Decarbonisation Is a System Challenge
An FPSO is effectively a large industrial processing plant installed on a floating vessel. It receives hydrocarbons from offshore wells, processes them and stores the resulting oil until it can be transferred to a tanker. These operations require significant amounts of energy. Gas turbines and other combustion systems generate electricity and heat for processing, pumping, compression, water treatment and the vessel’s supporting infrastructure.
Capturing CO₂ under these conditions creates constraints that differ significantly from those found in a land-based industrial plant. Every additional module competes for scarce deck space. Added equipment changes weight distribution and centre of gravity. The vessel moves with waves, wind and currents, while maintenance activities must take place offshore. Equipment must also operate reliably in a corrosive marine environment and comply with strict process-safety and classification requirements.
A technically proven carbon capture process can therefore remain commercially unusable when its physical architecture does not fit the operating environment. CycloneCC addresses part of this problem through compactness. The Rotating Packed Bed replaces the very large static columns commonly used in conventional solvent-based capture systems. Rotation increases contact between gas and liquid, allowing the absorption process to take place in smaller equipment. Carbon Clean also states that the technology’s performance is less affected by vessel motion than conventional columns.
Compactness alone, however, cannot create a deployable offshore solution. The system must be connected to exhaust-gas sources, energy supplies, cooling systems, solvent-management systems, control infrastructure and safety systems. Its operation must be coordinated with the wider production process, and it must remain economically viable when capture rates, fuel composition, plant loads and operating conditions change.
The project therefore concerns an entire configuration of technologies and capabilities. This pattern appears throughout GreenTech. A promising technology eventually reaches a point where further success depends on integration into an existing industrial environment. The technology must fit physical constraints, regulatory requirements, commercial practices, supply chains and established operating routines.
As a consequence, value increasingly arises at the interfaces between the new technology and the established industrial system. This changes the relevant IP landscape. The core invention remains important, while process specifications, engineering models, control strategies, performance data, interface definitions, commissioning procedures and operational know-how become equally important for industrial deployment.
The transition from invention to infrastructure therefore creates an additional layer of strategically relevant IP. The companies that control this layer gain influence over how the technology is implemented, how quickly it can be scaled and which partners can participate in future value creation.
Three Companies, Three Complementary Control Positions
Carbon Clean’s published IP position provides the clearest starting point for the analysis. At the time of the February 2025 announcement, the company reported more than 110 active patent👉 A legal right granting exclusive control over an invention for a limited time. assets from 18 patent families across 30 countries. The company describes its carbon capture technology as patented and identifies its advanced solvent and Rotating Packed Bed technologies as central elements of CycloneCC.
The commercial function of this portfolio extends well beyond the prevention of direct copying. The patents define a protected technological core around which partnerships, investments and licences can be organised. Carbon Clean can disclose enough information to support project engineering while preserving control over the essential elements of its solution.
The Process Design Package creates a controlled interface between technology ownership and project execution. Samsung E&A receives access to the information required for the engineering work within a contractually defined framework. This arrangement allows Carbon Clean to mobilise external capabilities without transferring unrestricted control over its technology platform.
Samsung E&A occupies a second control position. Its contribution lies in the detailed engineering and the conversion of the Process Design Package into a vessel-specific system. This work may include layout development, equipment sizing, material selection, piping design, control architecture, safety analysis and integration with existing process systems.
A substantial share of the resulting value may never appear in a patent. Engineering calculations, design templates, supplier knowledge, construction methods and commissioning procedures can instead be protected as confidential know-how. Repeated project experience may allow Samsung E&A to reduce engineering hours, anticipate failure modes and standardise future installations.
In November 2025, Carbon Clean and Samsung E&A expanded their relationship through a broader alliance for the deployment of modular carbon capture systems. The alliance combines Carbon Clean’s patented CycloneCC technology with Samsung E&A’s engineering, procurement and construction capabilities and its AHEAD execution model for design automation and off-site construction. The parties presented their earlier work with MODEC and Aramco as evidence of the scalability of their combined approach.
MODEC occupies the third control position. Its FPSO designs, technical standards, operational experience and fleet relationships determine whether a carbon capture solution can become part of a commercially accepted offshore offering. MODEC also controls access to the relevant operating environment and can generate the data needed to validate performance at sea.
In June 2025, MODEC and Carbon Clean signed an agreement intended to accelerate the development and deployment of CycloneCC on MODEC FPSOs. The companies stated that successful work could enable post-combustion carbon capture to become a standard offering for future FPSO projects. This ambition changes the strategic meaning of the pilot.
A one-off retrofit would create one lower-emission vessel. A standardised FPSO solution could create a repeatable business model👉 A business model outlines how a company creates, delivers, and captures value., a reference architecture and a competitive differentiator for future vessel projects. The resulting control position depends on several connected layers. Carbon Clean controls significant parts of the capture technology, Samsung E&A controls valuable engineering and project-execution capabilities, and MODEC controls the FPSO context, integration standards and access to future deployment opportunities.
Commercial success depends on the ability to combine these layers without eroding the strategic position of any participant. The collaboration must enable extensive knowledge exchange while preserving sufficient control over the assets that each company needs for its future business.
IP as the Architecture of Repeatability
The decisive IP management task begins where the contributions of the three companies overlap. The pilot will generate knowledge that did not exist in the same form before the project. It may reveal how the capture system responds to vessel motion, fluctuating exhaust streams, limited utilities, maintenance constraints and real offshore operating conditions.
Engineers may redesign equipment, change control parameters, alter layouts or develop new installation procedures. These activities create questions concerning background IP, foreground IP, ownership of improvements and access rights.
Background IP includes the technology, data, know-how, software and designs that each party owned before the collaboration. Carbon Clean’s capture technology belongs in this category. MODEC’s FPSO standards and vessel knowledge form another background layer, while Samsung E&A enters the project with engineering methods, tools and execution experience.
Foreground IP is created through the project itself. It may include patentable improvements to equipment, vessel-specific adaptations, control algorithms, design configurations, engineering documents, performance data and new operational procedures. The allocation of these results will influence the future market positions of all three companies.
Carbon Clean needs sufficient rights to improve CycloneCC and deploy the resulting improvements in other industries and customer projects. Samsung E&A benefits from the ability to reuse general engineering knowledge and execution methods. MODEC needs access to the results required to operate, maintain and reproduce the system across its fleet and future FPSO designs.
A restrictive allocation of rights could slow future scaling, because each subsequent project would require renewed negotiations and dependencies. An uncontrolled allocation could weaken the competitive positions that motivated the participants to contribute their technology and knowledge in the first place. Successful IP management therefore requires a deliberate rights architecture.
This architecture should define ownership of improvements, access to project results, licensing rights, permitted fields of use, confidentiality obligations and the treatment of operational data. It should distinguish vessel-specific information from generally applicable technology and clarify which party can authorise future deployments.
Data deserves particular attention because a pilot plant produces performance information that may become more commercially valuable than the physical installation itself. The data can demonstrate capture efficiency, energy consumption, solvent behaviour, reliability, maintenance requirements and performance under vessel movement.
These results reduce technical and financial uncertainty. They support engineering improvements, customer discussions, regulatory acceptance, investment decisions and performance guarantees. Control over the data therefore affects control over the industrial learning curve.
A company that can aggregate operational experience across multiple installations can improve its models, designs and cost estimates faster than competitors. Each project makes the next one more predictable, less expensive and easier to finance. This creates a cumulative advantage that can become more difficult to reproduce than the original equipment.
Trade secrets support this learning process. Patents make selected parts of the technology visible in exchange for exclusive rights. Confidential know-how protects parameters, implementation details and operating practices that would be difficult to derive from the finished equipment.
The Process Design Package sits between these forms of protection. It transfers the information needed for project execution while contractually restricting its use. It enables collaboration without requiring Carbon Clean to surrender unrestricted control over its technology. In this sense, IP management becomes the operating system for the entire cooperation.
How IP Creates the Commercial Success Contribution
The intended destination of the project is a repeatable offshore carbon capture offering. MODEC and Carbon Clean have described a pathway from a pilot to a system capable of capturing up to 100,000 tonnes of CO₂ annually, followed by deeper integration into FPSO designs with a target capacity of approximately 300,000 tonnes per year. Their broader ambition is a solution capable of capturing as much as 1,000 tonnes per day aboard FPSOs.
Achieving this progression requires technological performance, contractual clarity, investment confidence and a scalable division of work. IP contributes to success by organising these elements into a coherent commercial system.
- First, IP makes specialised cooperation possible. Carbon Clean can work with an experienced engineering company and a major FPSO provider while preserving ownership of its core technology. Samsung E&A and MODEC can obtain access to the knowledge required for their tasks without acquiring or recreating the entire technology business.
- Second, IP supports investment and commercial commitment. A defined portfolio of patents, licences, know-how and project rights helps each participant understand which assets it controls and which assets it may use. This clarity reduces uncertainty surrounding the pilot and future commercial projects.
- Third, IP enables specialisation. Carbon Clean can focus on capture technology, Samsung E&A can focus on engineering and execution, and MODEC can focus on FPSO integration and operations. The rights architecture connects these capabilities into a joint value proposition without dissolving the individual business models.
- Fourth, IP converts project learning into a durable competitive position. A successful demonstration will produce more than evidence that carbon capture works offshore. It will create validated designs, operating data, supplier experience and implementation routines. The ability to protect, access and reuse these results will determine how quickly the partners can move from the first installation to repeated deployment.
- Fifth, IP supports standardisation. MODEC’s stated ambition is to offer post-combustion carbon capture as a standard option for future FPSO projects. A standard offering requires stable interfaces, predictable performance, repeatable engineering and clear licensing conditions. It also creates a potential market position that extends far beyond one vessel.
The ultimate IP asset👉 A legally protected intangible resource creating business value. may therefore be the deployment architecture itself. This architecture combines protected equipment, process knowledge, engineering methods, FPSO standards, operational data, contractual rights and commercial relationships. Competitors may possess carbon capture technology, offshore engineering capabilities or vessel access. Reproducing the complete combination can nevertheless remain extremely difficult.
The project illustrates a broader principle for GreenTech management. Green technologies create economic impact when they can be integrated into real industrial systems, financed, operated and replicated. Patents protect important technical elements, while commercial success depends on the coordinated control of all assets required for deployment.
The MODEC, Samsung E&A and Carbon Clean case shows how IP can organise this coordination. Carbon Clean’s patents and Process Design Package establish a protected technology core. Samsung E&A transforms that core into an executable engineering solution. MODEC connects the solution to an operating environment and a route towards fleet-level deployment. The pilot generates the knowledge needed to reduce uncertainty and improve subsequent installations.
The central strategic question therefore concerns more than ownership of the carbon capture equipment. It concerns control over the process through which carbon capture becomes a repeatable offshore solution. This process forms the deployment layer, which contains the interfaces between technology, engineering and operations.
The deployment layer generates the data and experience that shape future performance. It determines how quickly a first-of-a-kind project can become an accepted industrial offering. In GreenTech, the companies that control this layer can influence which technology is selected, how it is integrated and who participates in future value creation.
IP makes this control visible, divisible and commercially usable. Its success contribution lies in transforming three separate capabilities into one scalable system consisting of protected technology, an industrial execution model and an operational platform. When this system works, a pilot project can become a product category, and a carbon capture unit can become the foundation of a new offshore business architecture.
