DNV published a recommended practice (RP) that provides a standardized framework for measuring and verifying the performance of onboard carbon capture and storage systems (OCCS) of ships, laying the foundation for the subsequent development of solutions and technologies.
According to the company, since around 90% of the operating fleet still relies on fossil fuels, capturing the element onboard is emerging as a viable alternative to reduce emissions from ships that cannot easily or economically transition to low greenhouse gas (GHG) emission fuels. In the regulatory sphere, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has initiated the development of guidelines for onboard carbon capture, the development of which continues and is expected to be finalized in 2028.
Cristina Saenz de Santa Maria, CEO of DNV’s maritime division, noted that “onboard carbon capture and storage (OCCS) has potential as a solution for a large part of the current fleet, which is important given the time many of these ships will remain in service. Our Maritime Forecast to 2050 estimates that developing CO2 discharge infrastructure in just 20 of the world’s largest ports could reduce total CO2 emissions from the global fleet by 9%. With this recommended practice, we want to provide the industry with a common technical language and, in this way, support the development of onboard carbon capture solutions.”
According to DNV, the standard DNV-RP-0698 Performance of onboard carbon capture and storage systems is based on mass balance principles and defines a harmonized set of performance metrics, including capture rate, amount of CO2 captured, emissions to the atmosphere, and gross capture efficiency. The framework is technologically neutral and covers pre-combustion, post-combustion, oxy-combustion, and other approaches. Finally, a structured third-party verification process covers system documentation, measurement configuration, performance calculations, and uncertainty assessment.
“This recommended practice provides a structured way to account for overall performance, not just volume. It allows designers, shipyards, OCCS system manufacturers, and shipowners to define and verify performance in newbuilding and retrofit projects, facilitating alignment among stakeholders from the early stages of system design and enabling more informed investment and implementation decisions,” stated Chara Georgopoulou, Director of R&D and Maritime Advisory in Greece.
