DNV Issues AiP To ERMA FIRST Onboard Carbon Capture System

ERMA FIRST, the Greek headquartered technical maritime solutions provider founded in 2009, has now received the Approval in Principle (AiP) from DNV for its amine absorption-based Onboard Carbon Capture (OCC) system for vessels.

DNV has issued the AiP to ERMA FIRST following the successful completion of a technical review, risk assessment and review of the company’s feasibility study for onboard carbon capture (OCC) on ro-ro vessels.

DNV, as one of the world’s leading classification societies, confirms that the proposed design from ERMA FIRST is approved for installation onboard seagoing vessels.

The ERMA FIRST Carbon Capture System uses amine absorption technology and a proprietary amine solvent to absorb CO2 from flue gases.

When heated, the chemical reaction that occurs reverses the absorption and separates the CO2 from the solvent. The CO2 that is released is subsequently liquified and stored under cryogenic conditions onboard and the regenerated solvent can be re-used, creating a highly efficient regenerative OCC process, as ERMA FIRST states.

Chara Georgopoulou, head of R&D and advisory unit Greece & onboard CCS manager of DNV Maritime, said that “As the maritime industry explores a range of decarbonization technologies, DNV is committed to supporting innovation and ensuring this is done safely. OCC can be a major contributor to emissions reductions and our guidelines for OCC provide a framework for developing exciting new solutions like this. With our extensive portfolio of Advisory services we will continue to work closely with our customers in paving the way towards a more sustainable future in shipping.”

“We are absolutely delighted to have received an Approval in Principle from DNV for ERMA FIRST’s OCC system. OCC systems promise to provide shipowners and operators with the ability to significantly reduce the volume of CO2 emitted in exhaust fumes and offer a viable solution to achieving the IMO’s emissions reduction targets,” noted Konstantinos Stampedakis, co-founder & managing director of ERMA FIRST.

He added also that “Our OCC system is set to be one of the first available to the market and this AiP represents a significant achievement for ERMA FIRST’s research and development team. We look forward to continuing to work with DNV as the project progresses and installing and operating a pilot system onboard a DNV-class vessel.”