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Onboard CCS ramping up in container sector
The container sector is a good fit for onboard CCS, but there is more to be done in terms of infrastructure and legislation for it to really take off
Onboard carbon capture and storage (OCCS) is ramping up in the container ship sector with new solutions, and more interest due to the suitability of box ships for this technology. But there are challenges to overcome, and industry insiders warn it needs to be included in environmental legislation.
Value Maritime global director Yvette van der Sommen says, “ Regulatory developments are moving forward, and shipowners are increasingly eager to adopt carbon capture technology. Some have already begun implementing it. Interest is particularly strong in Northern Europe, where the push for decarbonisation is accelerating.”
She says for container shipping, carbon capture is a very suitable solution. “Since container vessels operate on predictable routes with scheduled port calls, planning for carbon capture and offloading is feasible, especially for the tank container option,” she points out.
But while the container ship sector is a good candidate for the technology, Ms van der Sommen adds, “Further development of the carbon value chain and supporting infrastructure is needed. This takes time, but progress is already being made.
“Our sister company, Value Carbon, is actively loading and offloading CO2 tank containers in Dutch ports. The captured carbon is then transported to nearby greenhouses, where it is reused to enhance the growth of crops like tomatoes and cucumbers.”
TGE Marine sales director Jakob Nielsen also points out the need for the development of the supply chain. He says, “We are involved in the transport of liquified CO2, so if onboard carbon capture becomes common, it is likely TGE will be involved in the infrastructure transporting the CO2 captured on board.
“As CO2 from onboard carbon capture will likely have less purity than the LCO2 from the larger industrial CCS plants, this must be addressed in the development of the transport chain of CO2 from ships. How the infrastructure in ports can be developed for receiving this CO2 also needs to be considered.”
Meanwhile, ERMA FIRST highlighted while the market is growing, challenges include infrastructure and regulation. ERMA FIRST chief technical officer Stelios Kyriacou says, “There is a mixture of proposed solutions, dominated by chemical absorption technologies, although other methods are also presented. The market is slow to develop due to lack of regulatory recognition of OCCS, but this is gradually changing as IMO and the EU have included OCCS in their agendas.”
He says the market will continue to develop, albeit slowly. “The environmental regulations must advance to include OCCS in the impact provisions to encourage the adoption of such technologies, recognising tangible benefits to the ship operators in terms of EEXI/EEDI, carbon intensity CII and Fuel EU. Currently, the EU ETS offers recognition only if permanent storage of CO2 is used. Therefore, the market may remain sluggish until such discussions have developed further. We would expect to see market developments in 2025-26 with deliveries in 2027.”
Dr Kyriacou adds, “Apart from the regulatory challenges, the challenges are now with the landside infrastructure. There are very few well developed operational sites where CO2 could be offloaded for storage. This is a problem when considering the deployment of OCCS globally, as such sites are geographically stationary and may be inaccessible to some ship trades. Further, local permitting rules must be developed to allow for the offloading and handling of CO2 .”
New solutions and developments are entering the market. Value Maritime is piloting a new carbon capture unit called Carbon Catcher. This system utilises rotating packed bed technology to enhance capture efficiency. Ms van der Sommen says, “It has undergone successful land-based testing and offers the potential to capture significantly more carbon at once.”
The company is also leading with its partners in the Maritime Efficient & Easy Carbon Capture (ME2CC) project with funding from the Maritime Masterplan 2024. The funding will contribute to the development, construction and demonstration of a first-in-kind compact, modular carbon capture system to be installed aboard the LNG vessel Samskip Kvitbjorn.
“Being part of the Maritime Masterplan enables scaling up our Rotterdam offloading capabilities,” Ms van der Sommen says.
Value Maritime continues to offer its compact Filtree (SOx scrubber) with an integrated carbon capture unit. The captured carbon can be stored in battery containers or onboard converted tanks, which can be modified to increase capture capacity.
Elsewhere, ERMA FIRST launched the development of a new OCCS technology. The developed system CARBON FIT, is based on the proven chemical absorption principle, using amine solvents, selected due to its maturity and technological readiness.
Dr Kyriacou says, “CARBON FIT is an innovative development specifically designed for operation on board ships and thus meets the requirements of safety, operability and maintenance as required for shipboard service. There is a steady influx of enquiries about carbon capture from shipowners who proactively seek decarbonisation solutions. It has been noted OCCS is a strong candidate technology to support the decarbonisation of shipping, but the adoption of such solutions is currently hindered by the lack of a clear legislative framework to recognise the quantitative impact of such technologies in reducing greenhouse gases. This, however, is currently receiving the attention of both legislators and regulators where now the contributions of OCCS to decarbonisation of ship operations is recognised.”
Work programmes are in progress to develop the regulatory frameworks in support to the deployment of OCCS in the marine sector.
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