Wärtsilä Exhaust Treatment and Solvang ASA, a Norwegian shipping company, have agreed on a full-scale pilot retrofit installation of a carbon capture and storage (CCS) system on one of Solvang’s ethylene carriers, the 21,000-cbm Clipper Eos, according to the company's release.
Wärtsilä Exhaust Treatment designs the retrofitted unit while it also completes a land-based 1MW test system at its Moss headquarters in Norway. The land-based unit will be completed in autumn 2021, and the companies expect to retrofit the pilot CCS system on the Clipper Eos by 2023.
The agreement reinforces Wärtsilä’s continued research and development into carbon capture at the point of exhaust to support the shipping industry’s decarbonisation pathway.
The project will enable both Wärtsilä and Solvang to strengthen their position at the cutting edge of sustainable technology development in shipping. To remain in line with the IMO’s decarbonisation targets, Wärtsilä is initially aiming for a 70% reduction in CO2 emissions at the point of exhaust with its pilot unit.
The vessel, “Clipper Eos” has been time chartered by Marubeni Corp., Tokyo since her delivery from the shipyard in 2019. Marubeni, having more than 40 years' experience trading and handling ethylene, advise that they are committed to cooperating with Solvang and Wärtsilä to enable the parties to perform relevant testing and installation of equipment on the vessel in a mutual effort to drastically reduce the CO2 footprint of the vessel.
In addition to signing a Letter of Intent with Solvang and scaling its Moss CCS test unit, Wärtsilä recently announced it is partnering with the LINCCS consortium to scale and create carbon capture technologies and infrastructure. The consortium recently received 111m Norwegian Kroner in funding to CCS research and development.
About Wärtsilä Exhaust Treatment
Wärtsilä Exhaust Treatment is the market leading marine exhaust gas leaning system manufacturer, with a range of lifecycle scrubbing solutions. Wärtsilä ET offers integrated compliant solutions for all types of ships, and in open loop, closed loop or hybrid configurations. Wärtsilä’s scrubbers are uilt with a modular approach to future technology development, creating a latform for the abatement of other emissions from shipping beyond sulphur.
Wärtsilä in brief:
Wärtsilä is a global leader in smart technologies and complete lifecycle solutions for the marine and energy markets. By emphasising sustainable innovation, total efficiency and data analytics, Wärtsilä maximises the environmental and economic performance of the vessels and power plants of its customers. In 2020, Wärtsilä's net sales totalled EUR 4.6 billion with approximately 18,000 employees. The company has operations in over 200 locations in more than 70 countries around the world.
Solvang in brief:
Solvang ASA s a Norwegian shipping company founded in 1936. From very modest beginnings, the company has now developed into one of the world’s leading transporters of LPG and petrochemical gases. The group has a total fleet of 26 vessels, nine ethane/ethylene carriers, one MGC, nine LGCs and seven VLGCs. Since 2008, Solvang have invested more than USD 1.8 billion in new ships and has a modern fleet with an average age of about seven years. Solvang ASA has its headquarters in Stavanger, with offices in Oslo and the Philippines.