Scorpio Tankers has partnered with Carbon Ridge to complete the first installation of the US-based start-up’s centrifugal carbon capture system on a commercial vessel.
The system was installed on the 110,000-dwt LR2 product tanker STI Spiga, which was built in 2015 at the Besiktas Shipyard in Turkey. This is the first maritime deployment of Carbon Ridge’s proprietary modular system, designed to enable fossil-fuel-powered vessels to significantly reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.
Unlike conventional carbon capture technologies that rely on passive chemical processes involving tall absorber columns, Carbon Ridge’s system employs centrifuges rotating at 400 to 600 rpm to intensify the process. The company states that this design reduces the system’s physical footprint by up to 90% compared to traditional installations, while also lowering the associated energy consumption.
‘We do it a little bit different by [flowing] the gas into a centrifuge that’s rotating at about 400 to 600 RPMs, which basically introduces what is called process intensification,’ said Chase Dwyer, Founder and CEO of Carbon Ridge. ‘We’re able to get this very large reduction in the overall size of the carbon capture process as a result that also lends itself to reductions in energy consumption as well.’
The system enables the separation and liquefaction of CO2 on board, allowing for storage throughout the voyage. Captured CO2 is stored in pressurised onboard tanks for later offloading and permanent sequestration or industrial reuse. The system is also capable of removing over 99% of sulphur oxides, nitrogen oxides and particulate matter.
Carbon Ridge claims that the modular design can be adapted for both retrofits and newbuilds, with horizontal or vertical configurations depending on the vessel’s architecture. The company has recently completed a financing round led by Katapult Ocean and Alfa8, with additional support from Crosscut Ventures and Berge Bulk.
The pilot is part of a broader strategy to offer shipowners a fully integrated carbon capture and handling service. ‘I’d say 50% of our business is building the capture equipment […] and working with owners on the installation, as well as the ongoing operations,’ said Dwyer. ‘But the other half of it is, we’re going to take liability for this process on the back end and really offer it as a service.’
He added: ‘It’s not just what happens on board. It’s also taking the CO2, getting it off the vessel, ensuring it goes somewhere on land, because that’s at least 50% of the equation of this entire ecosystem.’
Scorpio, which is also an investor in Carbon Ridge, described the trial as an initial step in assessing the commercial viability of carbon capture at sea. Cameron Mackey, Chief Operating Officer at Scorpio Tankers, said that a compelling business case would depend on two external factors: a higher carbon price and the development of onshore carbon transport and storage infrastructure.
‘The first is the price of carbon has to go up, and the second is the infrastructure around carbon transport and sequestration needs to develop,’ he said. ‘Both of these are not in play for Scorpio today, but we can see them emerging in pockets, and certainly we see them as compelling in the next five to ten years.’
Mackey also suggested that carbon capture technologies may have a critical role to play during the protracted transition away from fossil fuels. ‘Technologies focused on their competitiveness may be less sexy than alternative “clean” fuels, but they are as valuable, if not more, during a transition which is anything but clear.’
Dwyer noted that Carbon Ridge’s solution is designed to align with a range of evolving regulatory frameworks, including those imposed by IMO, EU and the State of California. The company is now focused on refining the system to support multi-year regulatory compliance with a payback period acceptable to shipowners.
