US shipping company Crowley and Carbon Ridge, a developer of modular onboard carbon capture and storage solutions, have announced that they’ve initiated an advanced pilot project to reduce emissions impacts using Crowley’s Storm international container ship.
Using Carbon Ridge’s patent-pending, second-generation carbon-capture technology, the companies, together with the US Maritime Administration (MARAD), have executed a cooperative agreement for the pilot programme to operate, measure and optimise the technology’s effectiveness in actual maritime environments at port and, ultimately, at sea. The collaboration includes the engineering, manufacturing and integration of a small-capacity version of Carbon Ridge’s full-scale carbon-capture system.
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The project will receive support from MARAD through its Maritime Environmental and Technical Assistance (META) programme.
‘The advancement of the pilot project represents a milestone in the emerging technology for carbon capture,’ said Chase Dwyer, Carbon Ridge’s CEO. ‘With its potential for significant emissions reductions through retrofitting or during new building, ship owners and operators have the opportunity to future-proof their vessels for incoming regulations, as well as reach internal goals for decarbonisation and reduced emissions impacts.’
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Crowley’s engineering services group, which provides vessel design and engineering, project management and waterfront engineering by leveraging its research and development team for internal and external customers, is leading the integration of the pilot system on the Storm, which serves the USA and Caribbean Basin. The carbon-capture system will be housed in two 12-metre container units on the vessel’s main deck and have an additional six-metre, ISO-certified tank for storing the captured liquid carbon dioxide. The pilot project is expected to capture one tonne per day from the vessel’s main engine.
‘We are excited to help spearhead the maritime industry’s journey to cleaner operations at sea and in our communities,’ said Brett Bennett, senior vice president and general manager of Crowley Logistics. ‘This is a strong step forward to understanding and achieving our commitment to reaching net-zero emissions as part of our sustainability strategy.’
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‘MARAD is pleased to work with industry partners through META to demonstrate innovative technology applications that may lead to greater greenhouse gas emission reductions in the maritime sector,’ said Daniel Yuska, director of the MARAD Office of Environment and Innovation.
Installation of the pilot unit on the vessel is expected in 2024 after completing onshore testing.