Carbotreat and VDL AEC Maritime partner on CCS

VDL has strong experience in engineering and manufacturing emissions abatement systems. Carbotreat’s carbon capture systems have been operating successfully for years and were among the first in Europe.

VDL says that currently the most certain strategy for reducing CO2 emissions is to capture the CO2 released from the exhaust gases during combustion. The CO2 can be used to make methanol based on green energy that can be used as ships fuel creating a carbon neutral cycle. It would also contribute to a gradual transition to synthetic fuels.

The companies’ carbon capture system can be integrated into new build vessels and can also be retrofitted to existing vessels. The captured CO2 is stored in a tank and transferred to shore. From here the CO2 could be transferred to a plant where synthetic fuel is produced.

In December 2021, VDL announced its involvement in the LNG-ZERO project with partners Shell, Carbon Collectors, Heerema, Anthony Veder, Carbotreat, and Conoship International. TNO and the technical universities of Twente and Delft are research partners, and safety and performance standards will be developed in conjunction with Lloyd’s Register.

LNG-ZERO has the goal of developing the technology and strategy that are needed for reducing exhaust emissions in order to contribute to a sustainable shipping industry.

This will be achieved by a threefold strategy: capture CO2, significant reduction of methane slip and nitrogen emissions, and bringing the captured carbon to shore for new applications (e.g. as base material for production of synthetic fuel) or directly offshore for permanent geological storage. This is expected to achieve massive reductions of GHG in the complete chain, and any residual emissions can be offset by the use of bio-LNG.