Wärtsilä has officially launched its onboard carbon capture system, marking what the company calls a major milestone in maritime decarbonization.
Following successful trials both at sea and at its Norwegian testing facility, the new system is now commercially available and is designed to capture up to 70% of CO2 emissions from ship exhaust.
“CCS is a game-changer for the maritime industry, and we are already seeing huge interest in the market for this solution,” said Håkan Agnevall, President and CEO of Wärtsilä.
The company reports that the system works with any carbon-based fuel and is easy for crews to operate. Wärtsilä estimates the total cost of capture, including installation and operation, falls between $54 and $76 per ton of CO2 — an attractive figure compared to the costs of transitioning to green fuels, which remain limited in availability.
The technology has been under development since 2019, with its first live deployment aboard Solvang ASA’s Clipper Eris, an 18,000 dwt vessel retrofitted with the system. It has been operating since the vessel departed Singapore in February 2025.
Roger Holm, President of Wärtsilä’s Marine Solutions division, emphasized the broader role the company plays as a strategic partner in the decarbonization journey of shipowners. “We are involved in many different technologies: we develop engines to use green fuels, we do carbon capture, we do other efficiency improvements,” he said.
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Holm stressed that these technologies are not in competition, but complementary. My viewpoint is that we will need all tools in the toolbox to get to net zero by 2050.”
As regulatory pressures grow and shipowners weigh financial feasibility alongside emissions goals, Wärtsilä is helping clients tailor decarbonization plans to their specific needs and timelines.
Solvang ASA is already applying that mindset, working with Wärtsilä to prepare its next generation of ships for CCS retrofits — including installing CCS-ready scrubbers and allocating space and utilities for eventual system upgrades.
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