The Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation (GCMD) today published its report on Project CAPTURED, presenting findings from the world’s first demonstration of a complete carbon value chain for onboard captured carbon dioxide (CO2).

This is the first of a two-part series, with the second report to cover the life cycle assessment (LCA) of the carbon value chain. That analysis will quantify the greenhouse gas (GHG) impacts of the first maritime-to-industry CO2 utilisation pilot.

About the pilot

Completed in China on 25 June 2025, this pilot involved Evergreen Marine Corp’s Ever Top container vessel capturing CO2 using Shanghai Qiyao Environmental Technology Co., Ltd. (SMDERI-QET)’s Onboard Carbon Capture and Storage (OCCS) system.

The captured CO2 was then transferred ship-to-ship to Zhoushan Dejin Shipping Co., Ltd.’s (Dejin) Dejin 26, followed by a ship-to-truck transfer and subsequent overland transport to Baorong Environmental Co., Ltd. (Baorong).

At Baorong, the LCO2 was successfully utilised as feedstock, and together with steel slag, produced low-carbon calcium carbonate and post-carbonated slag.

Key highlights from the report

Project CAPTURED tracked the quality and quantity of the captured CO2 across the entire value chain through comprehensive sampling and analysis. At all custody transfer points, CO2 consistently exceeded 99.95 vol%, meeting the specifications of the downstream user. Of the 25.44 metric tonnes (MT) of captured CO2 offloaded from the Ever Top, 15.84 MT was delivered to the end-user.

The project also demonstrated safe and controlled operations, with no safety incidents during the trial. This outcome was achieved through a series of rigorous safety measures, including a hazard identification risk assessment covering all stages of LCO2 offloading, from vessel approach and mooring to transfer and disconnection.

The handling, transfer and transport of LCO2 followed procedures adapted from existing liquefied natural gas (LNG) and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) transfer protocols.

Expanding the list of EU ETS end uses

Under the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS), only CO2 that is permanently fixed in products such as construction materials is recognised as “utilisation”. At present, this covers carbonated aggregates, cement constituents, and products, such as concrete, bricks and tiles. This list does not include other products that also achieve permanent carbon fixation.

In this pilot, captured CO2 was mineralised into precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC)—a synthetic alternative to conventionally quarried fillers that offers higher purity and tighter control over particle size and morphology.

Although PCC can permanently bind CO2, it is only considered eligible under the EU ETS if used in construction materials. Other applications, such as its use as a functional filler in paper, plastics, and building materials, that demonstrate chemical permanence of carbon fixation, are not included.

As carbon capture technologies scale and the supply of captured CO2 increases, mineralisation pathways, like PCC, could offer additional pathways for carbon utilisation.

Expanding the EU ETS list of “eligible end-uses” to include other applications where carbon is also embedded in durable long-lived products could unlock new industrial demand, encourage investment, and accelerate the deployment of carbon capture and utilisation solutions onboard vessels and ashore.

Looking ahead

The successful scaling of the carbon value chain for onboard captured CO2 will hinge on several critical advancements identified by Project CAPTURED. One is to address the regulatory classification of captured CO2 as “hazardous cargo” from “hazardous waste” to enable lawful land transport and broad industrial utilisation.

Another focus area is streamlining transfer operations, including aligning tank capacities and transfer volumes as well as enhancing insulation of transfer equipment to reduce CO2 vaporisation, installing custody-transfer grade flow meters and inline gas analysers to monitor CO2 quality, and standardising safety protocols, including emergency shutdown interfaces and mooring configurations.

Improving commercial viability of the value chain is also crucial, which can be supported through the co-location of offloading and utilisation sites, fostering expanded industrial partnerships, and promoting CO2-derived product markets to increase the commercial drive for carbon capture.

Supporting IMO’s regulatory framework for OCCS

The findings will be formally presented at the Technical Seminar on OCCS Systems, organised by IMO under its Future Fuels and Technology Project.

The one-day event, scheduled for 11 September 2025 at IMO Headquarters in London brings together policymakers, industry experts, and technical stakeholders to discuss the latest developments in OCCS technology, infrastructure readiness, environmental and safety considerations, and regulatory frameworks.

Professor Lynn Loo, CEO of GCMD, said, “For OCCS to truly gain traction, what happens downstream is just as important as capturing CO2 onboard. Ships are floating assets that ply the world’s oceans, which makes it vital to harmonise standards and regulations across ports and terminals so that offloading can be carried out safely and at scale. And to unlock economies of scale, maritime CO2 capture must be closely aligned with landside industrial end-use and demand.”

Source: Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation (GCMD)