The two U.S. based companies, shipping liner company Crowley and carbon capture tech company Carbon Ridge have, with support from the U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD) Maritime Environmental and Technical Assistance (META) program, initiated an advanced pilot project to reduce emissions impacts using Crowley’s container ship “Storm”.
The companies and MARAD have executed a cooperative agreement by using Carbon Ridge’s patent-pending, second generation carbon capture technology for the pilot program to operate, measure and optimize 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.
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 U.S. and Caribbean Basin.
Crowley noted that the carbon capture system will be housed in two 40-foot container units on the vessel’s main deck, and have an additional 20-foot ISO-certified tank for storing the captured liquid CO2, with the pilot project expecting to capture 1 metric ton per day from the vessel’s main engine.
In 2022 Crowley contributed to Carbon Ridge’s seed funding round to continue developing the technology with the installation of the pilot unit on the vessel expected in 2024 after completing onshore testing.
Chase Dwyer, chief executive of Carbon Ridge, said: “The advancement of the pilot project represents a milestone in the emerging technology for carbon capture. 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 decarbonization and reduced emissions impacts.”
Brett Bennett, senior vice president and general manager of Crowley Logistics, noted “We are excited to help spearhead the maritime industry’s journey to cleaner operations at sea and in our communities,” and that “This is a strong step forward to understanding and achieving our commitment to reaching net-zero emissions as part of our sustainability strategy.”
Daniel Yuska, director of the MARAD office of environment and innovation, pointed out that “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.”
