News » 27.08.2025 - How the horticulture industry contributes to shipping sustainability

Since 2024, the shipping industry has been required to pay tax on its emissions. "That makes releasing CO₂ expensive, so shipowners are actively looking for ways to cut their emissions," explains Rolf Bakker from Value Maritime and Value Carbon in a conversation with Shell.

Value Maritime specializes in capturing CO₂ directly from the exhaust gases of ships that run on fossil fuels such as diesel or heavy fuel oil. The company is now also focusing on LNG (liquefied natural gas), which is currently the cleanest available fuel for shipping in terms of CO₂ emissions.

"Within a consortium, we're working on the first application of our system onboard an LNG vessel, the Norwegian Samskip Kvitbjorn," says Rolf. "This world-first shows that even existing LNG ships can take another step toward sustainability with smart technology. On LNG vessels we can capture over 75% of CO₂ emissions, since there's no need to filter out soot or sulfur."

And what happens to the captured CO₂? Value Maritime delivers it straight to the greenhouse sector, where growers can use it to boost crop growth. Trials with the captured CO₂ have already been successful.

Shell is also exploring ways to help ships operate with the lowest possible emissions. At the moment, LNG is the best option. But LNG engines come with a challenge: certain types release unburned methane through the exhaust. In the shipping world, this is known as methane slip—a potent greenhouse gas problem.

To solve it, Shell is developing a catalytic after-treatment system that converts the methane in exhaust gases into water and CO₂. "We've successfully tested the system both in the lab and on an engine test bench," says Shell technologist Joost van de Venne. "The next step is to show shipowners that it works just as well at sea. That's why we're planning a real-world trial in 2026 on an existing vessel. This will be part of the GreenRay consortium, in collaboration with Finnish engine manufacturer Wärtsilä, one of the world's leading ship engine builders."
 

Source: www.floraldaily.com

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