While heavy fuel oil (HFO) accounts for about sixty per cent of global shipping fuel use, effective carbon capture technologies for this type of fuel are still lacking. Within the CAROS project, Carbotreat, Conoship, Hanzevast Shipping, TNO and DNV explore the feasibility of applying CO2 capture technology to HFO-powered ships.
Building on previous and current R&D collaborations such as EverLoNG, LNG-Zero, and Blue Horizon, which focus on carbon capture on LNG-fuelled ships, CAROS tackles the unique challenges posed by HFO. As a heavier and more polluting fuel, HFO is expected to cause faster degradation of the solvents used in CO2 capture systems — posing serious limitations to current technologies.
Three lines of research
The CAROS project is structured around three core research activities:
The results will indicate to what extent current carbon capture systems — originally developed for LNG — must be modified to be effective and economically viable for use on HFO-fuelled vessels.
Full-chain collaboration
The strength of the CAROS project lies in the diverse and complementary expertise of its partners:
Gaining time
‘This project is a crucial step toward reducing emissions from the existing global fleet,’ says Frank Sanders, Managing Director of Carbotreat and leader of the consortium. ‘The majority of vessels still run on HFO. If we can capture CO2 from those ships, we gain valuable time in the transition to a climate-neutral shipping industry.’
Project CAROS is made possible by a grant from the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs as part of the “Maritime Innovation Projects 2024” programme.
