Wärtsilä’s carbon capture technology ready to hit the market

May 7, 2025, by Sara Kosmajac

Following years of active development, Finnish technology group Wärtsilä’s proprietary carbon capture solution (CCS) is all but ready for commercial application.

According to the Helsinki-headquartered manufacturing company, the new solution is a fruit born out of a years-long effort that started in 2019.

As disclosed further, tests of the CCS have shown that the system is able to slash carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by up to 70%, offering shipowners an “immediate response” to increasingly tighter environmental guidelines, particularly when taking into account the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) target for 2050.

“CCS is a game-changer for the maritime industry, and we are already seeing huge interest in the market for this solution. Ahead of shipping’s net-zero targets, this new technology complements the industry’s ongoing efforts to dramatically reduce emissions from vessels and prevent stranded assets,” Håkan Agnevall, President and CEO of Wärtsilä, highlighted.

Per Wärtsilä, the launch of the carbon capture system comes on the heels of the installation of the full-scale solution onboard Norwegian maritime transportation player Solvang’s ethylene carrier Clipper Eris, where the technology is said to capture emissions from all exhaust gas sources.

Namely, in mid-January this year, Clipper Eris became “the world’s first” ship outfitted with a full-scale CCS after a turnkey carbon capture and storage (CCS) retrofit by Singaporean shipbuilding group Seatrium. The retrofit project was a joint initiative by Solvang, Seatrium, Wärtsilä, German engine maker MAN Energy Solutions, and the research institute SINTEF.

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As informed, the CCS, which has been in operation since the ethylene carrier set sail from Singapore in February 2025, is anticipated to support Solvang’s goal of cutting down on carbon emissions and supporting sustainable maritime operations.

Representatives from Wärtsilä have noted that Clipper Eris was already previously equipped with a range of the company’s technological solutions, including exhaust gas cleaning systems (scrubbers), which is what made the vessel a “suitable” candidate for the CCS testing.

In addition to this, Solvang is reportedly working with Wärtsilä to ensure its newbuild ships currently under construction are CCS-ready. It is understood that this comprises CCS-ready scrubber systems, as the vessels’ engines will operate on heavy fuel oil (HFO), space reservation, and utility requirements.

Per Wärtsilä, the company offers different CCS sizes and configurations for various vessel types, for both newbuildings and retrofit projects. The carbon capture solution is reportedly applicable to the exhaust from any carbon-based fuel, such as HFO, methanol, liquefied natural gas (LNG), and marine gas oil (MGO).

Over the past couple of years, the Finnish marine technology player has secured multiple orders for its carbon capture solution(s). For instance, Wärtsilä secured its first booking for the CCS-ready scrubber systems in March 2023. The commission was placed by a shipyard based in Asia. Moreover, in September 2024, German operator Leonhardt & Blumberg signed a contract for the same solution intended for a trio of its boxships.