Navigating within the Safe Operating Space with Carbon Capture On-Board

Despite the global pandemic that recently affected human and cargo transportation, the emissions of the maritime sector are projected to keep growing steadily. The International Maritime Organization focused on boosting the fleets' efficiency to improve their environmental performance, while more sustainable fuels are currently under investigation. Here, we assess the economic, technical, and environmental feasibility of an interim solution for low-carbon shipping using state-of-the-art CO2 capture technology, namely, chemical absorption, on-board cargo ships. We compute the carbon footprint of this alternative and perform an absolute sustainability study based on seven planetary boundaries. Our results show that the capture on-board scenario can achieve 94% efficiency on the net CO2 emissions at 85 $/tCO2 while substantially reducing impacts on core planetary boundaries (relative to the business as usual) and outperforming a direct air capture scenario in global warming and all planetary boundaries, except for the nitrogen flow. Hence, capture on -board seems an appealing solution to decarbonize shipping in the short term while alternative carbon-free fuels and related infrastructure are developed and deployed.

Automated summary

Despite the impact of the global pandemic on maritime transportation, emissions from the sector are still projected to increase steadily. The International Maritime Organization is focusing on improving fleet efficiency and investigating sustainable fuels. This study evaluates the feasibility of using CO2 capture technology on cargo ships as an interim solution for low-carbon shipping.