Seabound Launches First Onboard Marine Carbon Capture on Cement Carrier

Seabound, a UK-based marine carbon capture company, has launched the world's first onboard marine carbon capture project aboard the UBC Cork, a 5,700 GT cement carrier owned by Hartmann Group and managed by InterMaritime. The system uses calcium looping technology with calcium hydroxide (slaked lime) to capture up to 95% of CO₂ and 98% of sulphur emissions from ship exhaust, converting CO₂ into limestone stored onboard until offloading at the Port of Brevik, Norway. The captured limestone is then used at Heidelberg Materials' Brevik cement plant, the world's first industrial-scale carbon capture facility in the cement industry, producing net-zero concrete. This containerized technology allows easy retrofitting with minimal vessel modifications, offering lower energy consumption and costs compared to traditional liquefied CO₂ systems. The initiative is co-funded by the Eurostars partnership under Horizon Europe and supported by the Cyprus Research and Innovation Foundation, aiming to accelerate emissions reductions in the maritime and cement sectors amid increasing regulatory pressures such as the IMO's global carbon price starting in 2025. Industry leaders highlight this collaboration as a scalable solution to reduce Scope 3 emissions and decarbonize the carbon-intensive shipping and cement logistics chain.