UK carbon capture company Seabound has received £1.1 million through the UK Government’s Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition. The funding will support a first-of-a-kind project between Seabound, STAX Engineering, and Associated British Ports (ABP) to integrate Seabound’s carbon capture technology with the STAX emission capture and control system at the Port of Southampton.
Seabound’s modular carbon capture units, sized to match standard 20-foot containers, will be integrated onto STAX’s barge-based emissions capture and control system. The combined solution connects directly to a ship’s exhaust. The partners say STAX can remove up to 99% of particulate matter and 95% of nitrogen oxides. The purified gas then flows into Seabound’s compact capture unit, which Seabound said isolates and stores up to 95% of carbon dioxide and 98% of sulfur (SO2), before releasing cleaned exhaust.
ABP, has committed to reaching net-zero emissions across its own operations by 2040 and is determined to play a catalytic role in emissions reduction across supply chains. The company’s Energy Ventures Accelerator program, supports a variety of early-stage clean energy innovators, including Seabound and STAX.
“Sustainability and innovation are key themes as ABP helps its customers to adapt to the changing environment” said Max Harris, Head of Strategy and Sustainability at ABP. “We are excited to explore the potential of this innovative solution as we pursue ever better air quality at our ports and support maritime decarbonisation.”
Seabound aims to capture 100 million tons of CO2 annually by 2040, representing 10% of the global shipping sector’s emissions.
Carbon capture technologies are considered an important component of reducing emissions from the shipping industry which contributes 3% of global greenhouse gasses annually. However, while proponents of technologies like Seabound often suggest it can eliminate the need for ships and ports to transition to sustainable fuels, carbon capture alone can’t address the impact of shipping’s GHGs on climate change or on the ocean, which has absorbed roughly 30% of excess CO2 from the burning of fossil fuels.
The partners say this project positions Southampton as the first UK port to host a fully-integrated solution that captures both CO2 emissions and criteria pollutants–including sulphur oxides (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOX)–directly from ships while they are docked.
“This is the first time in the world that carbon and air pollution capture will be combined and deployed at full commercial scale in a port,” said Alisha Fredriksson, CEO and Co-Founder of Seabound. “We’re thrilled to be working with visionary partners like ABP and STAX to deliver a solution that we see reshaping port operations worldwide.”
Maritime venture lab, lomarlabs, is also supporting Seabound’s expansion and commercialization. Launched in March 2023 by Lomar, the UK based ship owner and management company, lomarlabs was created to collaborate with ambitious deep-tech start-ups to catalyze the deployment of solutions that address some of the maritime industry’s biggest challenges, including the transition to net-zero emissions.
The £1.1 million CMDC6 funding will support testing container swapping logistics, refining Seabound’s next-generation carbon capture system, and establishing the groundwork for a fleet of barges capable of covering key berths across the port.
