Greek ballast water treatment specialist ERMA FIRST has signed a letter of intent (LoI) with compatriot ship management company Capital Gas and British engineering company Babcock to install its carbon capture and storage (CCS) system onboard four new liquefied CO2 (LCO2) carriers.
ERMA FIRST’s CCS system CARBON FIT uses amine absorption technology based on a proprietary amine solvent to absorb CO 2 from flue gases.
The resultant mix is then heated to produce a chemical reaction that reverses the absorption, separating the CO 2 from the solvent.
Subsequently, the released CO 2 is liquefied using Babcock LGE’s ecoCO2 system and stored on board the ship in pressurized low-temperature storage for subsequent offloading.
Since the regenerated solvent can be re-used, the process creates a highly efficient regenerative loop for CCS, according to ERMA FIRST.
“This project is a breakthrough not only for ERMA FIRST and our CCS technology but also for shipping’s journey towards low-carbon operations. Under normal conditions, CCS systems are expected to cut vessel CO 2 emissions by 15% to 30%. At this specific project the CO 2 capture rate will exceed 70%. This will play a significant role in helping Capital Gas to achieve its decarbonisation objectives but also to have the first almost carbon neutral vessels,” Konstantinos Stampedakis , Co-Founder & Managing Director, ERMA FIRST, stated.
The CCS system holds Approval in Principle (AiP) from both Lloyd’s Register and DNV.