Latest news with #Seabound
The Guardian
6 days ago
- Science
- The Guardian
Carbon-capture plan may be self-defeating
The carbon-capture process described in your article uses lime pellets (Shipping is one of the world's dirtiest industries – could this invention finally clean up cargo fleets? 26 June). These are typically produced by heating calcium carbonate (limestone), releasing CO2 and requiring large amounts of energy, producing yet more CO2. If the used pellets are heated in a kiln for reuse, even if with renewable energy, the captured CO2 is released again and nothing is gained. Quicklime production creates yet more CO2, so without removing these emissions, Seabound's process would make shipping even dirtier. The Inflation Reduction Act passed under Joe Biden is funding development of cement production from calcium silicate. Once turned into concrete, this process sequesters CO2 overall, and in even larger amounts if green electricity fuels the kilns. Seabound should take note, else their technology is just another carbon-capture con. Wind turbines are turned off when too much electricity is being produced, and, bizarrely, we pay to turn them off. This excess could fuel kilns instead as well as the production of hydrogen for steel furnaces. Small nuclear reactors, as used in nuclear submarines, could also fuel energy-hungry kilns and furnaces. Vitrified nuclear waste could be put into deep-ocean subduction-zone trenches in the casings of US bunker-busting bombs or fired at the sun when Elon Musk's Starships stop auto-dismantling, rather than wasting these rockets on the futile race to Mars. Blue-green algae sequestered vast amounts of CO2 over 2bn years; now mankind is busy releasing it again over a few decades. We had best harness these little helpers and farm other CO2 fixers such as mussels, clams and oysters, if we wish to sequester CO2 in an environmentally safe Richard RichardsBrant Broughton, Lincolnshire Have an opinion on anything you've read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section.
The Guardian
27-06-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Shipping is one of the world's dirtiest industries – could this invention finally clean up cargo fleets?
An industrial park alongside the River Lea in the London suburb of Chingford might not be the most obvious place for a quiet revolution to be taking place. But there, a team of entrepreneurs is tinkering with a modest looking steel container that could hold a solution to one of the world's dirtiest industries. Inside it are thousands of cherry-sized pellets made from quicklime. At one end, a diesel generator pipes fumes through the lime, which soaks up the carbon, triggering a chemical reaction that transforms it into limestone. With this invention, Seabound, the company behind it, hopes to capture large amounts of carbon directly from the decks of cargo ships, and help clean up this strikingly polluting industry. More than 50,000 cargo ships are at sea at any moment, producing 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions – more than aviation. Behind all this is Alisha Fredriksson, a young entrepreneur who once dreamed of being a doctor but reached a turning point in her career after reading a report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that detailed the global implications of 1.5C (2.7F) v 2C (3.6F) of warming. 'That's when I realised that everyone around the world will be affected by the climate crisis, and so if I cared about large-scale social impact, the best thing I could do would be to help tackle it,' says 30-year-old Fredriksson, chief executive of Seabound. 'Then the question became 'well, how?'' Trials have shown that her invention can scrub most of the carbon from the ship exhaust, filtered through its lime-pebbled interior. Ultimately, the goal is to have this device strapped to ships across the world's oceans, she says. After identifying the problem she wanted to solve, the real work began. She and her co-founder, Roujia Wen, hit on the idea of scaling down the existing quicklime-based carbon-capture technology typically employed at industrial plants. They then made a prototype, and attracted about $4m (£3m) in funding from investors. Some of this came from shipping companies. 'It all happened really quickly. Suddenly we had money, and we had to go build it,' says Fredriksson. 'I think people were ready for a solution.' Since then, successive prototypes of the Seabound container have taken her from the company's test-bed in east London, to Turkish shipyards, the deck of a 3,200-container ship, and down the Suez canal on a three-week voyage to test its efficiency. This showed that a Seabound unit can capture 78% of all the carbon from the exhaust that is pumped through it, and 90% of the sulphur, a toxic air pollutant. The latest prototype is being built to the dimensions of a standard 20ft (5.9 metre) shipping container, so that it can seamlessly slot in with cargoes on deck, Fredriksson says. The design allows the stacking of several containers like regular cargo, and enables the ship to incrementally increase carbon capture in line with its journey length and decarbonisation goals. Once in port, the limestone-filled units can be substituted for containers of fresh quicklime. This product is made by heating limestone to high temperatures in kilns, an energy-intensive process that also releases CO2 from the limestone, making production extremely carbon-intensive. Companies are trying to make quicklime using kilns heated with renewable energy, or developing methods to capture the released CO2 so that it doesn't enter the atmosphere. Seabound is working to source this 'green' quicklime, Fredriksson says. 'There isn't currently a large quantity of green lime available globally, however there are many companies in the lime industry that are working on producing this – both large incumbents and various startups.' Some critics are concerned that decarbonising technologies could distract from solutions, such as zero-emission ammonia fuel or wind-powered innovations, that are essential to push the shipping industry to net zero. 'The potential for short-term use of carbon-capture retrofits on existing vessels should not become a justification to extend the lifespan of fossil fuels or delay the shift to truly sustainable alternatives,' says Blánaid Sheeran, climate diplomacy policy officer at Opportunity Green, a nonprofit organisation focused on gaps in global climate policy. But Fredriksson believes Seabound's technology could support this transition. In April, at a meeting of the International Maritime Organization, UN member states agreed to a landmark deal that will start charging ships for every ton of emissions above a threshold. That threshold will gradually decrease to push the industry towards green fuels. Seabound slots into this new regulatory landscape, according to Fredriksson, by enabling ships to decarbonise their fuels, thereby lowering their emissions, and gradually adjust to the rules by adding more containers over time. 'We can grow the amount of carbon capture as the regulations ramp up,' she says, noting that the invention can start cleaning up ships now as green fuels filter through the industry. Like most startups, Seabound faces the challenges of scaling up. But with each unit priced in the tens of thousands of pounds, Fredriksson says their offering is she has already has a commitment from one company to fit the first full-scale containers on to its ships this year. Her vision for the future is clear: 'It would be that we're on hundreds to, hopefully, thousands of ships, and we've got hubs in all the major ports around the world,' she says. This article was amended on 26 June 2025 to add some further context on quicklime's carbon footprint, and quotes from Alisha Fredriksson addressing this issue that were originally omitted from the published article.
The Guardian
26-06-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Shipping is one of the world's dirtiest industries – could this invention finally clean up cargo fleets?
An industrial park alongside the River Lea in the London suburb of Chingford might not be the most obvious place for a quiet revolution to be taking place. But there, a team of entrepreneurs is tinkering with a modest looking steel container that could hold a solution to one of the world's dirtiest industries. Inside it are thousands of cherry-sized pellets made from quicklime. At one end, a diesel generator pipes fumes through the lime, which soaks up the carbon, triggering a chemical reaction that transforms it into limestone. With this invention, Seabound, the company behind it, hopes to capture large amounts of carbon directly from the decks of cargo ships, and help clean up this strikingly polluting industry. More than 50,000 cargo ships are at sea at any moment, producing 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions – more than aviation. Behind all this is Alisha Fredriksson, a young entrepreneur who once dreamed of being a doctor but reached a turning point in her career after reading a report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that detailed the global implications of 1.5C (2.7F) v 2C (3.6F) of warming. 'That's when I realised that everyone around the world will be affected by the climate crisis, and so if I cared about large-scale social impact, the best thing I could do would be to help tackle it,' says 30-year-old Fredriksson, chief executive of Seabound. 'Then the question became 'well, how?'' Trials have shown that her invention can scrub most of the carbon from the ship exhaust, filtered through its lime-pebbled interior. Ultimately, the goal is to have this device strapped to ships across the world's oceans, she says. After identifying the problem she wanted to solve, the real work began. She and her co-founder, Roujia Wen, hit on the idea of scaling down the existing quicklime-based carbon-capture technology typically employed at industrial plants. They then made a prototype, and attracted about $4m (£3m) in funding from investors. Some of this came from shipping companies. 'It all happened really quickly. Suddenly we had money, and we had to go build it,' says Fredriksson. 'I think people were ready for a solution.' Since then, successive prototypes of the Seabound container have taken her from the company's test-bed in east London, to Turkish shipyards, the deck of a 3,200-container ship, and down the Suez canal on a three-week voyage to test its efficiency. This showed that a Seabound unit can capture 78% of all the carbon from the exhaust that is pumped through it, and 90% of the sulphur, a toxic air pollutant. The latest prototype is being built to the dimensions of a standard 20ft (5.9 metre) shipping container, so that it can seamlessly slot in with cargoes on deck, Fredriksson says. The design allows the stacking of several containers like regular cargo, and enables the ship to incrementally increase carbon capture in line with its journey length and decarbonisation goals. Once in port, the limestone-filled units can be substituted for containers of fresh quicklime. Seabound is working to source 'green' quicklime that uses renewable energy to heat the kilns where it is produced, Fredriksson says. Some critics are concerned that decarbonising technologies could distract from solutions, such as zero-emission ammonia fuel or wind-powered innovations, that are essential to push the shipping industry to net zero. 'The potential for short-term use of carbon-capture retrofits on existing vessels should not become a justification to extend the lifespan of fossil fuels or delay the shift to truly sustainable alternatives,' says Blánaid Sheeran, climate diplomacy policy officer at Opportunity Green, a nonprofit organisation focused on gaps in global climate policy. But Fredriksson believes Seabound's technology could support this transition. In April, at a meeting of the International Maritime Organization, UN member states agreed to a landmark deal that will start charging ships for every ton of emissions above a threshold. That threshold will gradually increase to push the industry towards green fuels. Seabound slots into this new regulatory landscape, according to Fredriksson, by enabling ships to decarbonise their fuels, thereby lowering their emissions, and gradually adjust to the rules by adding more containers over time. 'We can grow the amount of carbon capture as the regulations ramp up,' she says, noting that the invention can start cleaning up ships now as green fuels filter through the industry. Like most startups, Seabound faces the challenges of scaling up. But with each unit priced in the tens of thousands of pounds, Fredriksson says their offering is she has already has a commitment from one company to fit the first full-scale containers on to its ships this year. Her vision for the future is clear: 'It would be that we're on hundreds to, hopefully, thousands of ships, and we've got hubs in all the major ports around the world,' she says.
France 24
17-06-2025
- Business
- France 24
UK startup looks to cut shipping's carbon emissions
For two celebrated young designers, it is the beginning of a journey aimed at helping the maritime sector decarbonise. "We're simulating what happens on a ship," Alisha Fredriksson told AFP of the technology she developed alongside her friend Roujia Wen. The women, both aged in their early thirties, met at university and have since founded the company Seabound. Its work on "ocean-ready carbon capture" has seen the friends shortlisted for this year's Young Inventor Prize, which rewards technology contributing to sustainable development goals put forward by the United Nations. Winning the award on Wednesday "would be an extra boost to the team... a validation that the world cares about the shipping industry and its decarbonisation journey", said Fredriksson. Shipping accounts for three percent of global emissions, while the International Maritime Organization (IMO) recently voted in favour of a pricing system to help tackle excess carbon. At Seabound's miniature courtyard factory, Fredriksson showed off the prototype, which is fitted with a generator. "We're burning fuel, and that creates CO2," she explained, as exhaust gas was routed through a complex system of pipes into various containers. The carbon pollution was captured by lime pebbles, while the other elements were released into the atmosphere. The white-coloured lime acts "like a sponge", said chemical engineer Glexer Corrales, wearing a navy laboratory coat as he tested the quality of the granular-like substance that "is readily available" and "cheap". Once absorbed, the carbon was transformed into limestone through a chemical process. Seabound claims that minimal customisation is necessary for its system to work across many types of vessel. Shipping transformation Technology for carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) has so far been used primarily on land by heavy industry, for example in the production of cement, glass and steel. Potential safety risks of using CCUS at sea have yet to be set out by the IMO. And for the process to be truly beneficial, the amount of carbon captured "must be greater than the carbon produced" through the energy use incurred in installing the system, including on land, IMO official Camille Bourgeon told AFP. This objective was largely achieved during an initial test in 2023, when Seabound's system captured 78 percent of CO2 emitted aboard a ship run by Lomar Labs. From 2028, all ships will be required to use a less carbon-intensive fuel, the IMO recently ruled, while a penalty of $380 will be imposed for each tonne of CO2 emitted beyond allowances permitted by the UN shipping body. The IMO move has created "a big tailwind for our system", said Fredriksson, whose company aims to charge $150 for each tonne of captured CO2, before selling it on to companies requiring it for the production of certain types of fuel. © 2025 AFP
Int'l Business Times
17-06-2025
- Business
- Int'l Business Times
UK Startup Looks To Cut Shipping's Carbon Emissions
In a small London workshop, a prototype mimics the process of capturing carbon emissions from a cargo ship's engine. For two celebrated young designers, it is the beginning of a journey aimed at helping the maritime sector decarbonise. "We're simulating what happens on a ship," Alisha Fredriksson told AFP of the technology she developed alongside her friend Roujia Wen. The women, both aged in their early thirties, met at university and have since founded the company Seabound. Its work on "ocean-ready carbon capture" has seen the friends shortlisted for this year's Young Inventor Prize, which rewards technology contributing to sustainable development goals put forward by the United Nations. Winning the award on Wednesday "would be an extra boost to the team... a validation that the world cares about the shipping industry and its decarbonisation journey", said Fredriksson. Shipping accounts for three percent of global emissions, while the International Maritime Organization (IMO) recently voted in favour of a pricing system to help tackle excess carbon. At Seabound's miniature courtyard factory, Fredriksson showed off the prototype, which is fitted with a generator. "We're burning fuel, and that creates CO2," she explained, as exhaust gas was routed through a complex system of pipes into various containers. The carbon pollution was captured by lime pebbles, while the other elements were released into the atmosphere. The white-coloured lime acts "like a sponge", said chemical engineer Glexer Corrales, wearing a navy laboratory coat as he tested the quality of the granular-like substance that "is readily available" and "cheap". Once absorbed, the carbon was transformed into limestone through a chemical process. Seabound claims that minimal customisation is necessary for its system to work across many types of vessel. Technology for carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) has so far been used primarily on land by heavy industry, for example in the production of cement, glass and steel. Potential safety risks of using CCUS at sea have yet to be set out by the IMO. And for the process to be truly beneficial, the amount of carbon captured "must be greater than the carbon produced" through the energy use incurred in installing the system, including on land, IMO official Camille Bourgeon told AFP. This objective was largely achieved during an initial test in 2023, when Seabound's system captured 78 percent of CO2 emitted aboard a ship run by Lomar Labs. From 2028, all ships will be required to use a less carbon-intensive fuel, the IMO recently ruled, while a penalty of $380 will be imposed for each tonne of CO2 emitted beyond allowances permitted by the UN shipping body. The IMO move has created "a big tailwind for our system", said Fredriksson, whose company aims to charge $150 for each tonne of captured CO2, before selling it on to companies requiring it for the production of certain types of fuel. Seabound plans also to recycle the limestone. Shipping accounts for three percent of global emissions AFP From 2028, all ships will be required to use a less carbon-intensive fuel, the IMO recently ruled AFP Technology for carbon capture, utilisation and storage has so far been used primarily on land by heavy industry AFP
