World-first full-scale onboard carbon capture

February 03, 2025

Solvang ASA, a Norwegian shipping company, has rolled out Clipper Eris, the world’s first ship with a full-scale onboard carbon capture and storage (OCCS) system. The system will aid in reducing emissions by 70 percent while allowing repurposing of stored carbon in the food processing industry, a press release said.  
 
The shipping industry is crucial for global trade, but powered by fossil fuels is a major emitter of carbon. Estimates suggest that shipping contributes to three percent of total man-made carbon emissions, prompting efforts to reduce this impact through cleaner fuels. 
 
Interesting Engineering has previously reported how battery-powered ships have been introduced on some routes, but these are very short and a minuscule proportion of global traffic. Hydrogen is a potential fuel alternative, but the technology still needs to mature to be deployed in real-world scenarios. 

This means that the shipping industry needs to take steps to reduce onboard emissions while using fossil fuels, and this is where an OCCS system works.  
 
Decade long work
 
Even though the International Maritime Organization (IMO) adopted a resolution to reach net-zero emissions from operations by 2050 only recently, it has implemented regulations to reduce emissions for over a decade now.  
 
Norwegian company Solvang ASA has been at the forefront of these efforts. In 2011, the company began a program to make more energy-efficient vessels and remove harmful emissions using gas recirculation modules, open-loop scrubbers, and other system improvements. 

In 2021, it teamed up with CO2 scrubber manufacturer Wärtsilä to develop a carbon capture and storage system and tested it on a 1.2 MW system.  
 
In 2023, the company received funding from Norwegian technology incubator Enova and collaborated with MAN Energy Solutions and the research institute SINTEF to launch the world’s first full-scale OCCS system on ethylene carrier, Clipper Eris. 

Clipper Eris Pilot Project
 
The vessel was sent to a dry dock in Singapore for a complete retrofit. The new onboard OCCS technology is equipped to meet stricter emission regulations that will be applied in the future. 

Clipper Eris has a seven-megawatt main engine. The OCCS system will work with scrubber and exhaust cleaning systems to isolate carbon dioxide, which will be liquified for onboard storage.  
 
“Onboard carbon capture combined with existing cleaning technology is a significant shortcut to the decarbonization of the world’s deep-sea fleet,” said Edvin Endresen, CEO of Solvang ASA, in a press release. “This stands out as one of the more promising solutions for future vessels.”

Clipper Eris will leave the Singapore dock early in February for a two-year-long rigorous pilot test. If the test is successful, the company has seven new ships that are being readied for installation of the OCCS system. 

“CO2 can be recycled and used in land-based industries, but the global infrastructure for discharge for shipping needs to be developed fast,” added Endresen.