The International Maritime Organization has given in-principle support to a proposal by Shanghai Qiyao Technology Group to treat onboard carbon mineralisation as permanent storage. The process converts captured CO2 into stable carbonates like calcium carbonate, which can then be used in construction materials. This avoids the high costs and limited port infrastructure needed for geological storage of CO2. Shanghai Qiyao has already fitted a full-scale onboard carbon capture system on a 14,000 TEU container vessel and completed the world's first ship-to-ship transfer of liquid CO2 for onshore mineralisation. The IMO working group welcomed two joint proposals from the company and its partners during MEPC 84, which included full-chain data from capture to final mineralisation. If adopted, this approach could make carbon accounting more practical for the shipping industry by turning a costly waste stream into a valuable industrial input. The next step is formal IMO approval of mineralisation as equivalent to permanent sequestration under marine carbon credit rules.
