Turkey's floating power plant company Karpower International B.V. (Karpowership) and Japanese shipping company Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) have agreed to collaborate in the liquefied natural gas (LNG)-to-powership business.

Under the brand name KARMOL, the duo aims to become an LNG-to-powership solution provider. The parties aim to co-invest in the related assets and jointly market their solution in select markets around the world.

The business will generate power through the powership (a floating power plant) by receiving regasified LNG through a floating LNG storage and regasification unit to provide electricity to shore grids and facilities where base load electricity and/or replacements of fuel mode are required to meet the environmental concerns.

The project is expected to be cost-competitive, meeting the power demand. What is more, the new solution would significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions by replacing higher emission fuels with LNG.

MOL and Karpowership expect to achieve business synergies by combining their expertise of LNG, FSRU and powership businesses.

The companies plan to launch several projects in the coming years. They have already started to convert an existing LNG carrier into a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) to provide regasified LNG to a powership.

Karpowership is a subsidiary of the Istanbul-based Karadeniz Energy Group. The group started its energy investments in 1996 and is the first private electricity exporter in Turkey; it owns and operates more than 3,300 megawatts (MW) of installed capacity globally.

Karpowership is the only owner, operator and builder of the first powership fleet in the world. Since 2010, 19 powerships have been completed with total installed capacity exceeding 3,000 MW. An additional 5,000 MW of powerships are either under construction or in the pipeline.