Evergreen container vessel trials carbon capture

The Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation (GCMD) has released findings from Project CAPTURED, the world’s first complete carbon value chain demonstration for onboard captured CO₂.

Conducted on Evergreen Marine Corp’s Ever Top container vessel, the trial successfully offloaded 25.44 metric tonnes of CO₂ using an onboard carbon capture system developed by Shanghai Qiyao Environmental Technology.

Circular economy

The captured carbon dioxide was transferred ship-to-ship and ship-to-truck before reaching Baorong Environmental, where it was converted into precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC) and low-carbon construction materials.

CO₂ purity exceeded 99.95% throughout and operations followed adapted liquefied natural gas safety protocols, with no incidents reported.

The project’s findings have direct implications for the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS). Currently, only CO₂ used in construction materials qualifies as “utilisation” under the scheme.

However, PCC produced from vessel emissions can also bind CO₂ permanently, suggesting new industrial pathways could be recognised.

The GCMD said that expanding the EU ETS list of eligible end-uses could stimulate investment, unlock additional demand and accelerate adoption of carbon capture onboard vessels.

GCMD highlighted regulatory challenges, including the classification of captured CO₂ as hazardous waste and stressed the need for harmonised global standards.

The results will be presented to the IMO as momentum builds for scalable carbon capture and utilisation solutions across shipping and industry.

Read The Motorship’s interview on ammonia with Prof Lynn Loo, CEO of the Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation (GCMD)