Value Maritime, the Dutch green technology company, and its Maritime Efficient & Easy Carbon Capture (ME2CC) consortium partners, have received funding from the Netherlands’ Maritime Masterplan 2024, a government scheme designed to stimulate innovation and sustainability within the Dutch Maritime Sector. The project aims to develop and demonstrate a scalable, compact carbon capture system that will be installed on the Samskip Kvitbjorn, a Norwegian-flagged Roll-on/Roll-off (RoRo) and container combination LNG-powered vessel.
Led by Value Maritime, the ME2CC consortium includes Samskip Holdings, B2B Marine, Fusie Engineers, Devoteq, Brusche Process Technology, Heatmaster, and Yard Energy Group. It plans to build a modular carbon capture system with a reduced height and footprint of up to one-third when compared with existing CO2 absorption technologies. The new onboard system is designed to minimise pressure drop and enhance operational efficiency by simultaneously capturing CO2 emissions and reducing fuel consumption, thereby lowering operating costs.
Key features of the system include:
- Integration with flue gas systems: Utilising hot flue gas for onboard electricity generation, simultaneously capturing CO2 and reducing fuel consumption.
- Modular design: Facilitating scalability, ease of installation, and adaptability across various vessel types, from shortsea and inland shipping to large offshore vessels.
- Leasing models: The modular design enables leasing arrangements, lowering entry barriers for ship operators.
The captured CO2 will be offloaded at designated ports and transported to land-based CO2 hubs. These hubs leverage renewable electricity and economies of scale to regenerate the captured CO2, which, once processed, will be used in downstream applications, such as in the agricultural sector.
Erik Hofmeester, Head of Vessel Management at Samskip, noted the alignment of the retrofitting project with Samskip’s long-term sustainability vision: “We have spent years actively pursuing sustainable solutions across our fleet, and the retrofitting of the Samskip Kvitbjorn aligns perfectly with our vision for the future of shipping. Working alongside Value Maritime and the ME2CC consortium members, we are ensuring that the Samskip Kvitbjorn meets the low-emission requirements set by the EU and Norwegian authorities, all while continuing to provide reliable service for our customers.”
Fokke van der Veen, Program Manager for Energy Systems at the Maritime Masterplan, commented, “We are very pleased that this ambitious consortium, ME2CC, is part of the first call within the Maritime Masterplan. Development and demonstration of Onboard Carbon Capture with an LNG energy system will certainly lead to a more sustainable maritime future.”
Christiaan Nijst, Co-Founder & Director of the Value Group, stated: “We are delighted to have been awarded this funding, which provides an important stimulus to the ME2CC project, and to the maritime energy transition. The combination of low costs for shipping companies and the compact, modular nature of this solution makes it highly scalable and widely applicable. This initiative underscores our commitment to driving meaningful change in the maritime industry.”
As a solution that is designed to reduce both CAPEX and OPEX, the ME2CC consortium intends their system to be ready for rapid mass adoption across the maritime sector. It forms part of the Netherlands’ wider Maritime Masterplan 2024, which aims to stimulate the development and operation of 40 climate-neutral ships using innovative emissions-reduction technologies, including LNG, methanol, hydrogen, and onboard carbon capture systems.
