‘World’s first’: Methane removal system debuts at sea

April 17, 2026, by Nadja Skopljak

A U.S.-UK partnership has launched what is said to be the first-ever pilot project that will see the extended at-sea trial of a system designed to remove methane during normal ship operations.

California-headquartered climate technology company Bennu Climate and Lomarlabs, an innovation arm of Lomar Shipping, have partnered up for a 12-month pilot of Bennu’s device that permanently eliminates fugitive methane emissions on a 57,000-dwt Lomar supramax bulk carrier.

“This pilot represents a paradigm shift for our industry. We are putting technology on ships not only to cut their own emissions but to actively remove excess greenhouse gas from the atmosphere as they sail,” said Stylianos Papageorgiou, Managing Director of Lomarlabs. “We’re proud to back innovators like Bennu who turn bold ideas into real-world climate tools.”

According to Bennu, the system, roughly one cubic meter in size and weighing 50 kg, uses advanced photochemistry to destroy methane molecules before they can trap heat in the atmosphere, mimicking a natural photochemical process.

It is said to be the first of its kind to be deployed on a vessel that is navigating normal trading conditions and undergoing commercial operations.

This builds on Bennu’s dockside tests from 2024, when the company’s UV-based methane destruction technology was demonstrated on a Lomar vessel while in port. The system is also in the process of gaining carbon credit certification from the Gold Standard program.

“Nothing can turn back the climate clock faster than methane removal,” said Bennu Co-founder and CEO David Henkel-Wallace. “Bennu’s innovation has the potential to reduce shipping companies’ costs and regulatory taxes while playing a critical role in the industry’s efforts to reduce its climate impact.”