New partnership looking into ocean-based carbon capture in commercial shipping

Naval architecture and marine engineering company AURELIA Design and climate-tech company CALCAREA have joined forces to bring ocean-based carbon capture to commercial shipping.

The collaboration seeks to combine AURELIA’s expertise in green ship design and e-systems integration with CALCAREA’s carbon removal process.

The partnership will focus on CALCAREA’s limestone weathering technology, a system that accelerates a natural process where CO2 reacts with limestone and seawater, transforming it into stable bicarbonates stored in the ocean.

The two companies intend to develop a next-generation bulk carrier, fully integrating the CALCAREA reactor and supporting systems into the vessel architecture. AURELIA will lead the naval architecture, system integration, and class compliance engineering, ensuring the technology can operate efficiently and safely in real ship conditions without affecting cargo capacity.

The study will be conducted to analyze seawater flow dynamics, intake and discharge configurations, and hull shape, aiming to maintain performance while minimizing fuel impact. The design will serve as the foundation for a scalable and class-ready newbuild platform, the partners said.

As revealed, the Phase 0 feasibility and concept study is now underway and will be followed by further engineering and validation phases as the technology advances toward approval in principle (AiP) and demonstration.

“We see shipping as one of the most natural environments for large-scale carbon removal,” said Pierre Forin, Co-founder and CTO of CALCAREA. “Ships operate surrounded by seawater — the very medium our process uses. Partnering with AURELIA allows us to bridge science and engineering, and turn our technology into a deployable maritime system.”

“What makes this collaboration exciting is that it’s not just another retrofit — it’s a new generation of clean ship design built around a truly regenerative technology,” added Raffaele Frontera, Founder and CEO of AURELIA. “CALCAREA brings a breakthrough CO2 capture process, and AURELIA brings the design and system expertise to make it practical, class-compliant, and ready for industry adoption.”