Global Ship Lease invests in carbon capture technology

London-headquartered containership owner, Global Ship Lease, is investing in a carbon capture initiative led by Norway’s Aqualung Carbon Capture, an innovator in membrane carbon dioxide capture and separation technology, alongside other industry leaders in shipping, energy generation and infrastructure, and lithium production.

Global Ship Lease, with a fleet of 65 ships, said it was invited to invest and pool its technical expertise to support the application of Aqualung’s carbon capture solution to the maritime sector, with a particular focus on the development of containerised carbon capture units to be retrofittable to containerships and other seagoing vessels.

George Youroukos, executive chairman of Global Ship Lease, commented: “Maritime regulators, our liner customers, and the general public increasingly recognise, as do we, that decarbonisation of the shipping sector is an imperative that demands immediate action. The challenges are significant. One of the biggest is for the shipping industry to adapt to what is likely to be a non-standardised, multi-fuel environment in the future – with each fuel type requiring its own infrastructure, propulsion technology, safety protocols, training, and all else that such a fundamental shift entails. In contrast, if the container shipping industry teaches us anything, it is that standardisation can unlock a virtuous cycle, reducing costs and facilitating and accelerating the buildout of support infrastructure and services. This is one of the things that makes carbon capture so compelling: almost regardless of the initial fuel input, the ultimate output is a highly standardised and well understood carbon dioxide molecule.”

In addition to Global Ship Lease, Golar LNG, MKS Pamp and Standard Lithium have participated in Aqualung’s $10m equity round. Representatives from Golar LNG and Standard Lithium are also set to join the Aqualung board of directors. The funds will be used to grow Aqualung’s team across Europe and the US, deliver its first commercial pilot with Standard Lithium and initiate commercialisation projects with key industrial suppliers to achieve its objective of providing large scale commercial units before 2025.

“While our financial commitment is limited, we are pleased to have found, in Aqualung, a carbon capture technology with great potential and a team – supported by the right combination of strategic investors – that is highly focused on both practicality and scalability. Crucially, we believe that such a technology can play a central role in extending the lives of existing ships, by significantly mitigating their emissions and increasing their competitiveness in an increasingly carbon-regulated environment, which is a key step, in our view, in transitioning to a decarbonised future,” added Youroukos.

Source: Splash247