The technology group Wärtsilä has received its first order for carbon capture and storage-ready scrubber systems - CCS-Ready scrubbers - the company has announced today. The order was booked in Wärtsilä’s order intake in November 2022 and the delivery is expected to take place in 2023.
Four 8,200 TEU container vessels, being built at undisclosed Asian based yard, will be fitted with Wärtsilä’s CCS-Ready 35MW scrubber in an open loop configuration.
The scrubbers are termed CCS-Ready because, as part of their installation, Wärtsilä will perform additional design and engineering work to ensure that future retrofits for a full CCS system on the vessels have already been accounted for during the newbuilding construction stage.
Wärtsilä will take measures to ensure adequate space for the future installation of CCS system, incorporate considerations for minimising idle load and optimising utilities, and prepare the control and automation system accordingly. CCS-Ready scrubbers will also be designed for integration with a Particulate Matter filter.
Having a CCS-Ready solution assures that the undisclosed ship owner has continued regulatory compliance for SOx emissions today and opens the door to smooth CCS system adoption in the future.
By installing scrubbers that have been designed with the space and capabilities to have a CCS unit added, Wärtsilä is enabling ship owners to futureproof their existing assets, while remaining competitive and compliant.   
Scott Oh, Director at Wärtsilä’s Exhaust Treatment Asia, said: “We are very excited to announce this world-first order for our CCS-Ready scrubber solution. By investing in a CCS-Ready scrubber, ship owners will futureproof their assets and enable a smooth transition to CCS adoption once the technology is mature in the very near future. CCS is one of the key solutions to enable maritime decarbonisation in a short timeframe, and we look forward to progressing our technology further.”
Wärtsilä is currently testing its CCS system at 70% capture rate and a pilot installation will take place within the next twelve months.
Wärtsilä Exhaust Treatment is the market-leading marine exhaust gas cleaning system manufacturer, with a range of lifecycle scrubbing solutions. Wärtsilä offers integrated compliant solutions for all types of ships, and in open loop, closed loop or hybrid configurations. Wärtsilä’s scrubbers are built with a modular approach to future technology development, creating a platform for the abatement of other emissions from shipping beyond sulphur.