Can Shipping's Greenhouse Gas Emissions Be Captured At The Funnel? - CleanTechnica

The article from CleanTechnica examines the potential of Onboard Carbon Capture and Storage (OCCS) as a solution to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from fossil-fueled ships amid the shipping industry's slow transition to green fuels. While OCCS is technically feasible, its practical deployment faces significant challenges related to the additional energy consumption, space, weight, and operational reliability required onboard vessels during normal voyages and maintenance. The technology's scalability also depends heavily on downstream infrastructure, including the ability to measure, offload, store, and transfer captured CO2 to verified permanent storage sites—facilities that are currently scarce. Furthermore, the article highlights substantial data gaps regarding OCCS’s real-world technical performance, costs, and operational constraints, which raise doubts about optimistic claims of its effectiveness as a transitional decarbonization technology. The report commissioned by Transport & Environment (T&E) and conducted by Pre-Scouter underscores that without robust measurement, reporting, and verification (MRV) frameworks and adequate storage infrastructure,