In a research facility in Moss, Norway, marine systems giant Wartsila has built a device that its tests show can capture 70% or more of the carbon burned by a ship’s engine.
This story is part of a TradeWinds Business Focus exploring shipping companies that are early adopters across a range of green shipping technologies and fuels.
But there are a few things that testing inside this building cannot do, such as simulate the motion of a ship. Also, try finding water at 32C in a Norwegian fjord.
With on-board carbon capture proving an alluring way for shipping to tackle its greenhouse gas emissions, Finland-headquartered Wartsila is gearing to put its first system on an ethylene carrier later this year.
Solvang, the Norwegian shipowner that has been working with the technology company and that sees carbon capture as a potential “game changer” for shipping, is contributing its 21,100-cbm Clipper Eos (built 2019) to the pilot project.
Sigurd Jenssen, director of exhaust gas treatment at Wartsila, told the Green Seas podcast in January that more pilots are also in the pipeline.
He said Wartsila is reasonably confident that it has figured out how to scale the plants for a number of ship sizes, although storage of the carbon on board may lead to some sacrifices of cargo space on some ships.
The company believes its systems will hit the market in 2025, allowing carbon capture to make an impact well ahead of global carbon intensity cuts slated for 2030.
