HELSINKI's marine smart technology giant Wartsila has received its first order for carbon capture and storage-ready scrubber systems (CCS-Ready) scrubbers, the company announced

Wartsila said that four 8,200-TEU vessels, being built at undisclosed Asian-based yard, would be fitted with Wartsila's CCS-Ready 35MW scrubber in an open loop configuration.

The scrubbers are termed CCS-Ready because, as part of their installation, Wartsila 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, Wartsila explained.

Wartsila will take measures to ensure adequate space for the future installation of CCS system, incorporate considerations for minimizing idle load and optimizing utilities, and prepare the control and automation system accordingly. CCS-Ready scrubbers will also be designed for integration with a particulate matter filter.

Wartsila said that having a CCS-Ready solution assures that the shipowner, whose name was not revealed, 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, Wartsila is enabling owners to futureproof their existing assets, while remaining competitive and compliant," the company said.

Said Wartsila's Asian exhaust treatment chief Scott Oh: "CCS is one of the key solutions to enable maritime decarbonization in a short time, and we look forward to progressing our technology further."

Wartsila is currently testing its CCS system at 70 per cent capture rate and a pilot installation will take place within the next twelve months, the company said.