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16 min ago 2 min read
Risk and assurance firm DNV has published a standardised framework for measuring and verifying the performance of onboard carbon capture and storage (OCCS) systems on ships.
With around 90% of the operational fleet still dependent on fossil fuels, onboard carbon capture is emerging as a viable pathway to reduced emissions for vessels that cannot easily or economically transition to low-GHG fuels. On the regulatory side, the International Maritime Organization has initiated work on guidelines for OCCS, with development ongoing and expected to be completed by 2028.
Cristina Saenz de Santa Maria, CEO Maritime at DNV, said, “OCCS has potential as a pathway for a large part of the existing fleet, and that matters given how long many of those vessels will remain in service. Our Maritime Forecast to 2050 estimates that developing CO2 offloading infrastructure at just 20 of the world’s largest ports could reduce total world fleet CO2 emissions by 9%. With this recommended practice, we want to give the industry a shared technical language, and in doing so, support further development of onboard carbon capture solutions.”
The DNV‑RP‑0698 ‘Performance of onboard carbon capture and storage systems’ is built around mass balance principles and defines a harmonised set of performance metrics, including capture rate, captured CO2 quantity, emissions to atmosphere, and gross capture efficiency.
The framework is technology-neutral, covering pre-combustion, post-combustion, oxy-fuel and other approaches. Finally, a structured third-party verification process covers system documentation, measurement setup, performance calculations and uncertainty evaluation.
It comes as a new report from energy consultancy Xodus Group stated by 2050 to meet carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) goals.
The report predicts that the overall European captured CO2 transport market will evolve from 2030 to 2050 as a hybrid system between a range of onshore and offshore transport methods.
OCCS faces severe hurdles, primarily revolving around space constraints, high energy penalties, and lack of infrastructure. The bulky equipment and liquid/solid storage require massive space, while the energy needed for extraction reduces overall vessel efficiency.
