The Singapore-based Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation (GCMD) has won a regulatory breakthrough for onboard carbon capture: the European Union will accept captured CO2 as compliant under its Emissions Trading System when the carbon is processed into an approved, chemically bound product. The move could save operators calling in European waters.

The decision draws on a 2025 test aboard the 18,000 TEU Evergreen boxship Ever Top, retrofitted in 2024 with a capture system built by China State Shipbuilding Corporation. The trial achieved a roughly 11 percent capture rate at 99.95 percent purity; the offloaded CO2 was sent to a steel-slag plant and mineralized into calcium carbonate.

The IMO previously granted in-principle approval for carbon mineralization at MEPC 84. GCMD CEO Prof. Lynn Loo said the twin milestones turn a pilot into a verified reference case linking regulatory recognition, commercial value and emissions impact.

Select the link to learn more.