30 April 2024 (Lloyd's List) - CONTAINERSHIP Ever Top (IMO: 9665619) is docked at a berth in Shanghai’s Yangshan Port, loading and discharging like many other large boxships returning from Europe. But unlike the others, this 2014-built, 13,800 teu ship has an extra special cargo — the CO2 collected by its onboard carbon capture and storage system.
Together, the manufacturer Qiyao Environmental Technology, a subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding Corp, and Taiwan’s Evergreen Lines, the shipowner, are about to complete the inaugural trial of the device. The results could determine whether this technology has the potential for wide adoption in long-haul trades in the future.
Similar OCCS systems have been tested for shipping, but the voyages were shorter and the ships much smaller.
In February, British startup Seabound ran a trial on a 3,200 teu boxship during a two-month trip, involving the binding of CO2 into calcium carbonate pebbles, which later could be offloaded and sold to builders or converted back into quicklime and CO2 for reuse or storage.
The Ever Top project stands out as “the world’s first full-process operation on an actual long-haul voyage, conducted on board a large boxship,” Qiyao senior engineer Li Ke told Lloyd’s List in an interview.
The Evergreen vessel departed from Shanghai for Europe in January, having completed the installation of the OCCS equipment. This captures CO2 from the vessel’s exhaust, then separates and liquefies the gas, storing it throughout the voyage.
After returning to the departure port, the segregated CO2 will be offloaded and transported to shipyards for industrial use, Li explained.
In an email to Lloyd’s List, Evergreen said the OCCS pilot is one of its multiple emission-cutting strategies, such as ordering dual-fuel ships, that the carrier has been pursuing since 2023.
Qiyao’s OCCS system is capable of achieving an average CO2 capture rate of 80%, with the purity of captured CO2 exceeding 99%, making it suitable for various industrial applications, Li said.
This could allow Ever Top to extend its lifespan of service by meeting International Maritime Organization emission standards until the vessel’s scheduled scrapping near 2040.
As an extension of the vessel’s exhaust system, his company’s product won’t impact the engine and can be used for both existing vessels and newbuildings, Li added.
In addition to Evergreen, Qiyao has already signed an agreement with China’s Shandong Marine Holdings’ Huachen Leasing for the installation of the OCCS system on an 82,000 dwt bulker newbuilding. The installation is scheduled to be completed by 2025.
Qiyao declined to disclose the energy performance of its OCCS system.
Critics of onboard carbon capture point to problems such as where to process and store the carbon on land, the higher fuel use needed to run the OCCS system itself, and immature regulations.
But Li contends that counting the overall costs, including those from retrofitting and operation, the product is still much cheaper than dual-fuel propulsion.
The OCCS application also represents a useful cost-reduction tool for shipping firms engaging in Europe-related trades, where ships are obliged to pay a carbon tax under the EU carbon trading system.
Exemptions apply if the CO2 is captured on board, permanently stored, or utilised in accordance with the legislative requirements, as noted in a study released last month by the Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation and Lloyd's Register.
Through the trial run on Ever Top, Qiyao is collaborating with CO2 supply chain stakeholders and government departments to establish a framework encompassing CO2 capture, storage, transportation, and use, in a bid to help wider adoption of OCCS systems, Li said.
The port of Shanghai has been active in this process, with its aim to become a global green shipping hub, he added.
