UK-based climate techology firm Seabound has installed its calcium-looping carbon capture and storage (CCS) system on the 5,700 GT cement carrier UBC Cork, in partnership with Hartmann Group, InterMaritime Group, and Heidelberg Materials Northern Europe.
The CO2 captured onboard the vessel is offloaded at Heidelberg Materials’ facility in Brevik, where it is utilised as an input in the production of carbon-neutral concrete. The Brevik plant, which is already operational, can capture approximately 400,000 tonnes of CO2 annually and is integrated with the Northern Lights project.
Seabound’s modular CCS technology is housed within standard shipping containers and employs calcium hydroxide to extract CO2 and sulphur oxides from engine exhaust. The reaction converts the absorbed CO2 into calcium carbonate, or limestone, which is then stored onboard the vessel.
According to Seabound, the system can remove up to 95% of CO2 and 98% of sulphur emissions. The design decouples the capture process from subsequent liquefaction or injection, thereby reducing energy intensity and deployment complexity relative to traditional onboard CCS systems.
Alisha Fredriksson, Seabound’s co-founder and CEO, said: ‘We’re especially excited to be advancing this work in Brevik, a strategic location that’s rapidly establishing itself as a global hub for CCS with Heidelberg’s world-first facility and the Northern Lights pick up point. Together, we’re demonstrating how onboard carbon capture can accelerate emissions reductions in carbon-intensive sectors.’
Lars Erik Marcussen, Project Manager for Logistics at Heidelberg Materials Northern Europe, commented: ‘Shipping cement is emissions-intensive, and Seabound’s system gives us a clear path to reduce those Scope 3 emissions while enhancing our circular use of captured CO2. This project brings us one step closer to also decarbonising the logistics/transport part of our operations.’
The project has secured funding from the Eurostars programme, a Horizon Europe initiative administered through the Cyprus Research and Innovation Foundation. This support will accelerate collaborative R&D among small and medium-sized enterprises focused on reducing emissions in hard-to-abate sectors, including maritime transportation.
Seabound previously completed a pilot trial on a 3,200 TEU Hapag-Lloyd container vessel, which demonstrated a capture efficiency of approximately 80%. Port-based demonstrations have also been carried out in partnership with the US emissions capture company STAX Engineering. The company is now moving towards the delivery of full-scale systems for the Hartmann Group, which will be deployed on vessels engaged in the transport of cement from Brevik.
Seabound has set a long-term objective to capture 100 million tonnes of CO2 per year by 2040, which is equivalent to approximately 10% of the global shipping sector’s annual emissions. However, the extent to which the system can operate effectively using seawater rather than freshwater remains uncertain, a factor that could influence its scalability and suitability for deployment across the global fleet.
