The project was announced on Oct. 5 and plans to achieve at least 30% carbon capture on a medium-range tanker owned by Swedish shipping company Stena Bulk. That equals approximately 1,000 kilograms per hour, according to a joint press release.
The consortium comprising several energy and shipping organizations will work on the project to build and test carbon capture on an oil tanker in the upcoming two years.
Shipping is among the biggest greenhouse gas emitters in the world, as most cargo ships run on heavy fuel oil.
Stena Bulk CEO Erik Hanell said the project can contribute to more sustainable shipping industry.
“We are constantly working to push sustainability and technology boundaries to drive our industry forward,” he said. “By participating in this initiative and collaborating with our consortium partners, we hope to step closer to making carbon capture a reality for the global fleet.”
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The consortium involves the Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation (GCMD) in Singapore, the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI), Stena Bulk, manufacturing company Alfa Laval, the American Bureau of Shipping, The Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO) and Deltamarin, which provides ship services in the marine and offshore sectors.
Shipping and energy firms are increasingly pressured to decarbonize and meet net-zero targets by 2050.
“GCMD views shipboard carbon capture as one of the mid-term solutions needed to help the maritime sector decarbonize,” said GCMD CEO Lynn Loo.
The first phase of the project plans for the conceptual design and front-end engineering design study of the CO2 capture system. It will be finished in the first quarter of next year.
The next stage will feature engineering, procurement, and construction of a prototype shipboard CO2 capture system, and onshore commissioning.
The project’s final stage will focus on integrating the CO2 capture system with the oil tanker and then carrying trials at sea.
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