In a development Wärtsilä is calling a breakthrough in decarbonization for in-service vessels and new build vessels, it announced the commercial availability of its onboard carbon capture system. The company reports successful trials at sea and its plant in Norway, saying the ability to capture CO2 from ship exhaust systems will have a major impact on the industry’s efforts to reduce GHG emissions.
“CCS is a game-changer for the maritime industry, and we are already seeing huge interest in the market for this solution,” said Håkan Agnevall, President and CEO of Wärtsilä. “Ahead of shipping’s net-zero targets, this new technology complements the industry’s ongoing efforts to dramatically reduce emissions from vessels and prevent stranded assets.”
According to the tests, the new “Wärtsilä Carbon Capture Solution,” the company asserts, is proven to reduce vessel CO2 emissions by up to 70 percent. , providing ship owners with an immediate solution to meet increasingly stringent environmental regulations.
The launch follows the successful installation of the first system onboard Solvang ASA’s Clipper Eris (18,000 dwt), where the technology captures emissions from all exhaust gas sources. Earlier this year, Wärtsilä installed its CCS technology onboard the 21,000 cbm ethylene carrier for full-scale testing and optimisation. The solution has been in operation since the Clipper Eris set sail from Singapore in February 2025.
Solvang’s Clipper Eris, built in 2019, was already equipped with a broad range of Wärtsilä products, including exhaust scrubbers. Solvang is also working with Wärtsilä and other partners on its newbuilds to ensure these ships are CCS-ready. This includes CCS-ready scrubber systems, as the engines will operate on HFO, as well as necessary space reservation and utility requirements.
“While the shipping sector continues to explore options for lessening its environmental impact, CCS provides a significant shortcut for achieving meaningful sustainability,” says Edvin Endresen, CEO of Solvang ASA. “As one of the more promising solutions for marine decarbonisation, it was important for us to team up with an experienced and trusted partner such as Wärtsilä, and we are excited at the potential its CCS offering will bring to our business.”
Wärtsilä has been actively developing this technology since 2019 and currently operates a research centre and test facility in Moss, Norway, capturing 10 tonnes of CO2 per day from a Wärtsilä marine engine. These tests, which are now supported by the full-scale installation onboard Clipper Eris, have proven that the new CCS has the capability to reduce a vessel’s CO2 emissions by up to 70 percent. Wärtsilä also estimates its CCS would have a carbon capture cost of between $54 and $76 per metric ton of CO2, inclusive of capital and operating costs.
Wärtsilä is offering different scalable CCS sizes and configurations to suit various vessel types and operator needs. It says CCS can be applied to the exhaust from any carbon-based fuel – such as HFO, methanol, LNG and MGO – and is designed to work alongside other emission reduction technologies, including SOx scrubbers, NOx reduction systems, and particulate matter filters.