• The pilot shows how CO₂ can be efficiently captured, transported, and reused in land-based solutions without releasing it into the air.
• It is an add-on to the efforts of decarbonising the maritime sector.
• Captured CO₂, when used in cement production, offers one of the best ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The non-profit organisation Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation (GCMD), which supports the decarbonisation of the maritime sector, has completed the world’s first end-to-end pilot for onboard carbon dioxide.

The project demonstrates a full end-to-end value chain, starting with capturing carbon dioxide (CO₂) from ships, then offloading and transportation of CO₂, and eventually using it for industrial purposes on land. GCMD has achieved this remarkable feat with the help of a cohort of industry partners.

The project involved two stages: First, a company named SMDERI-QET managed a ship-to-ship (STS) transfer of 25.44 metric tonnes of captured CO₂ from MV Ever Top to another ship, Dejin 26, in China. Then, at a port in Zhoushan, Zhejiang Province, the CO₂ was offloaded onto a tank truck.

READ MORE: Open-Access CO₂ Infrastructure Being Readied at Port of Södertälje

GCMD comes at the second stage, where the CO₂ was transported on a 2,000 km journey to a joint venture facility in Inner Mongolia run by GreenOre and Baotou Steel. Here, the liquefied CO₂ (LCO₂) is used in low-carbon calcium carbonate production, an ingredient for sustainable construction materials.

This shows that CO₂ captured from vessels is applicable in land-based solutions — a new path to decarbonise the maritime industry. However, the pilot highlights that capturing CO₂ alone is not sufficient. It needs to be handled, transported, and reused in a way that prevents it from being released back into the atmosphere.

According to GCMD’s COLOSSUS study, using captured CO₂ is one of the most practical methods to reduce greenhouse gas emissions when used in concrete production, as it offsets some of the carbon-intensive cement.

The trial also faced problems as regards the legal classification of the captured CO₂. Since it was first seen as hazardous waste, it should have been disposed of as opposed to reused. Yet, the team worked with the authorities to reclassify it as hazardous cargo to be used for industrial purposes.

ALSO READ: From Boom to Caution: Carbon Capture’s Shifting Fortunes

To successfully complete the project, GCMD roped in a group of industry experts such as Evergreen Marine, SMDERI-QET, Dejin Shipping, GreenOre, and Baorong Environmental, as well as several government agencies and port authorities in Shanghai.

Now that the pilot is over, GCMD will conduct a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to estimate the overall greenhouse gas (GHG) savings from the project and work with DNV to verify its claims in line with recognised global standards, thus helping in future carbon capture projects in shipping with accurate and trustworthy data.

Professor Lynn Loo, CEO of GCMD, said: “We are proud to leverage our role as a neutral convener to bring together stakeholders from various sectors to address the technical and operational challenges of offloading and utilisation of CO2 captured onboard vessels.

"This pilot marks a major step in demonstrating how onboard captured CO2 can be integrated into the broader circular economy. With a rigorous life cycle assessment underway, we are quantifying the climate impact across the entire value chain to show how OCCS can serve as a meaningful decarbonisation lever—when applied thoughtfully and transparently.”

ALSO READ: China Launches First Oil Production Ship with CO₂ Capture

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Source: GCMD