The Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation on Monday (30 June) said it has successfully completed the world’s first maritime pilot demonstrating the full value chain of onboard captured carbon dioxide (CO2) in China on 25 June.

The pilot encompassed two phases. In the first phase, Shanghai Qiyao Environmental Technology Co., Ltd. (SMDERI-QET) conducted a ship-to-ship (STS) transfer of 25.44 metric tonnes (mt) of captured CO2 from the container vessel MV Ever Top to the receiving vessel Dejin 26. The CO2 was subsequently offloaded from Dejin 26 to a tank truck at a jetty in Zhoushan, Zhejiang Province.

The second phase, led by GCMD, involved transporting the captured CO2 to its end-use destination: a joint venture plant between GreenOre and Baotou Steel in Inner Mongolia. There, the LCO2 was successfully used in the production of low-carbon calcium carbonate, a key component in sustainable construction materials.

GCMD said this cross-sectoral demonstration highlighted how captured CO2 from ships can be repurposed for industrial applications, linking maritime decarbonisation efforts with broader land-based carbon ecosystem.

Advancing maritime decarbonisation at scale requires more than just capturing carbon. It is also essential to address the fate of the captured and offloaded CO2 by establishing a full carbon value chain, including the downstream infrastructure to offload, transport, store and use captured CO2 meaningfully.

Using captured CO2 in concrete production offers one of the higher GHG emissions savings among current utilisation pathways, as it partially displaces the need for carbon-intensive cement production ashore. This finding is based on GCMD’s COLOSSUS study, which evaluated life cycle emissions of onboard captured CO2 across various sequestration and utilisation pathways.

As a first-of-its-kind pilot, this project served as a valuable learning experience, helping to uncover real-world challenges that must be addressed to enable the scalable implementation of onboard carbon capture.

A key challenge was the classification of captured CO2. Designated as “hazardous waste” prohibits its reuse and mandates disposal. Through close coordination with the relevant authorities, the captured CO2 in this pilot was redesignated as “hazardous cargo,” lifting these restrictions and enabling its use as an industrial feedstock.

For the pilot, GCMD also identified and brought together stakeholders across the value chain—including a like-minded end user willing to evaluate onboard captured CO2 as its feedstock. With its facility located in Inner Mongolia, the captured CO2 was transported over 2,000 km as a first demonstration in its industrial reuse.

The pilot involved close collaboration with multiple stakeholders across the value chain, including vessel owner Evergreen Marine Corp, OCCS provider SMDERI-QET, STS service provider Dejin Shipping, and industrial plant operator GreenOre and its joint venture, Baorong Environmental Co. Ltd.  Port authorities and regulators, namely Shanghai Municipal Transportation Commission (SMTC), Shanghai Maritime Safety Administration (SMSA), Shanghai International Port Group (SIPG), Shanghai Customs, and Shanghai Border Inspection also supported the pilot.  

GCMD will conduct a comprehensive LCA to quantify GHG emissions for this pilot with CO2 quality and quantity data obtained through sampling activities conducted throughout the pilot. GCMD will work with DNV for third-party verification of emissions reduction claims under recognised accounting frameworks.

Photo credit: Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation
Published: 1 July, 2025