Climate-tech firm Calcarea and naval architect Aurelia Design have announced a strategic partnership aimed at integrating ocean-based carbon-capture technology into commercial shipping vessels.
The collaboration, unveiled on Monday, pairs Calcarea’s unique limestone-weathering system with Aurelia’s expertise in ship design and system integration.
At the core of the venture is a process that accelerates a natural reaction—where carbon dioxide (CO2) interacts with limestone and seawater to produce stable bicarbonates stored in the ocean.
The partners say this method offers a “nature-based, permanent, and infrastructure-light solution to CO2 capture and sequestration.”
The collaboration aims to develop a next-generation bulk carrier with the capture reactor and associated systems built into the vessel architecture.
Aurelia will oversee naval architecture, systems integration and class compliance engineering to ensure the installation doesn’t compromise cargo capacity or safety standards.
The initial study will examine seawater-flow dynamics, intake and discharge configuration and hull design to keep fuel impacts minimal while maintaining operational performance.
Relevant: Opinion: Ocean-Based Solutions: The Missing Link In Shipping’s Decarbonization Strategy
“We see shipping as one of the most natural environments for large-scale carbon removal,” said Pierre Forin, Co-founder and CTO of Calcarea. “Ships operate surrounded by seawater — the very medium our process uses.”
According to Forin, the collaboration with Aurelia enables the company to connect scientific innovation with practical engineering to develop a system ready for use in the maritime sector.
This new partnership marks a notable shift in maritime decarbonization strategies, moving beyond fuel-switching toward onboard carbon removal and storage.
As shipping grapples with regulatory pressure and the cost for zero-emission technologies remains high, integrating capture systems directly into vessel design could offer a scalable path.
In that respect, Aurelia Design CEO Raffaele Frontera said the collaboration represents “not just another retrofit — it’s a new generation of clean ship design built around a truly regenerative technology.”
Read more: Calcarea’s Unique Approach Captures CO2 From Ships And Sequesters It Directly Into The Ocean
