Grant, awarded in partnership with STAX Engineering and Associated British Ports, will fund the combined carbon and emissions capture and control system as a scalable, immediate solution for global ports
LONDON, Aug. 20, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Seabound, a UK-based leader in marine carbon capture, is proud to announce an award of £1.1 million through Round 6 of the UK Government's Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition (CMDC6). The funding will support a first-of-a-kind project between Seabound, STAX Engineering, and Associated British Ports (ABP) to integrate Seabound's carbon capture technology with the STAX emission capture and control system at the Port of Southampton. The companies previously announced their plan to deploy these barges in collaboration with ABP at the inaugural Maritime UK Solent Coastal Powerhouse Summit.
ABP, the largest port operator in the UK, has committed to reaching net-zero emissions across its own operations by 2040 and is determined to play a catalytic role in emissions reduction across supply chains. The company's Energy Ventures Accelerator programme, launched in 2024 represents a further example of how ABP is supporting a variety of early-stage clean energy innovators, including Seabound and STAX. Deploying world-first carbon and emissions capture technology sits alongside other initiatives at the Port of Southampton such as the UK's first investment in shorepower facilities at scale.
"Sustainability and innovation are key themes as ABP helps its customers to adapt to the changing environment" said Max Harris, Head of Strategy and Sustainability at ABP. "We are excited to explore the potential of this innovative solution as we pursue ever better air quality at our ports and support maritime decarbonisation".
This project positions Southampton as the first UK port to host a fully-integrated solution that captures both carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and criteria pollutants - including sulphur oxides (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NO?) - directly from ships while they are docked. Moreover, the combined Seabound and STAX solution provides maritime operators with an immediate, practical path to meet tightening environmental regulations and decarbonisation requirements without requiring vessels or ports to undergo retrofits and costly structural changes.
"This is the first time in the world that carbon and air pollution capture will be combined and deployed at full commercial scale in a port," said Alisha Fredriksson, CEO and Co-Founder of Seabound. "We're thrilled to be working with visionary partners like ABP and STAX to deliver a solution that we see reshaping port operations worldwide."
Maritime venture lab, lomarlabs, is also supporting Seabound's expansion and commercialization. Launched in March 2023 by Lomar, the UK based ship owner and management company, lomarlabs was created to collaborate with ambitious deep-tech start-ups to catalyse the deployment of solutions that address some of the maritime industry's biggest challenges - including the transition to net-zero emissions.
"This project is a breakthrough moment for ports and for the maritime decarbonisation landscape," said Stylianos Papageorgiou, Managing Director of lomarlabs. "By integrating carbon and emissions capture in a scalable, barge-based system, we're unlocking a practical path to cleaner port operations without retrofitting ships. At lomarlabs, we're proud to support Seabound in translating vision into deployment - and proving what's possible when maritime innovation is driven by real-world experience."
Seabound's modular carbon capture units, sized to match standard 20-foot containers, will be integrated onto STAX's barge-based emissions capture and control system. The combined solution - proven at the Port of Long Beach - connects directly to a ship's exhaust, with STAX removing up to 99% of particulate matter and 95% of nitrogen oxides. The purified gas then flows into Seabound's compact capture unit, which isolates and stores up to 95% of carbon dioxide and 98% of sulfur (SO2), before releasing cleaned exhaust.
"Ports are in immediate need of sustainable solutions that don't cause disruptions - and that's exactly what we're providing: a viable and effective alternative to shore power that can be deployed to any ship without retrofits, new infrastructure, or upfront costs in any port around the world," said STAX CEO Mike Walker. "Through this project with Seabound and ABP, we're one step closer to making clean air accessible and practical for all maritime operations."
The £1.1 million CMDC6 funding will support crucial pre-deployment work for this project in Southampton. This includes testing container swapping logistics, refining Seabound's next-generation carbon capture system, and establishing the groundwork for a fleet of barges capable of covering key berths across the port.
This project builds on Seabound's earlier win in CMDC Round 3, where the company achieved 78% CO2 capture efficiency and over 90% SO2 removal during a world-first shipboard carbon capture demonstration on the MV Sounion Trader. Seabound continues work with Lomar Shipping, the ship's owner, to deploy its carbon capture solution across the company's fleet.
"I'm delighted to see Seabound's continued success in maritime innovation," said James Lovett, Innovation Lead for Future Maritime Technologies at Innovate UK. "Their project is an excellent example of UK led engineering and entrepreneurship within a particularly hard-to-abate transport sector. We're excited to see the results of this CMDC Round 6 project, particularly given Seabound's great achievements in Round 3."
It's so exciting to see investment in green fuels and technologies spurring on skills, innovation and manufacturing across the UK, delivering on our Plan for Change missions to kickstart economic growth and become a clean energy superpower," added UK Maritime Minister Mike Kane. "We've charted a course to net zero shipping by 2050 and this £30 million will be crucial in supporting the green fuels and technologies of the future, so we can clean up sea travel and trade."
Beyond emissions reductions, the project will generate new skilled jobs at the Port of Southampton - from barge operations and maintenance to carbon capture servicing and logistics. ABP intends to expand and scale this solution to other ports across the country, offering a replicable model for other ports worldwide.
Founded in late 2021, Seabound has established itself as a leading onboard carbon capture technology developer with its simple, modular, and cost-effective technology. Seabound completed a world-first demonstration of their onboard carbon capture system together with lomarlabs and Hapag Lloyd, successfully capturing CO2 at ~80% efficiency onboard a 3200 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) container vessel. The company also recently announced a first-of-its-kind onboard carbon capture project in partnership with Hartmann Group and Heidelberg Materials AG to equip a cement-carrying ship with Seabound's compact carbon capture system.
Seabound is on a mission to capture 100 million tonnes of CO2 annually by 2040, representing 10% of the global shipping sector's emissions. The company continues to engage shipowners, cargo companies, and industrial players across the supply chain to expand adoption and maximize impact. For more information visit www.seabound.co or contact press@seabound.co.
About Seabound
Seabound is an award-winning leader in modular carbon capture systems for ships. Founded in late 2021, Seabound recently completed the world's first port-based CO2 capture demonstration at the Port of Long Beach with STAX Engineering. Previously, the company completed a world-first pilot with lomarlabs and Hapag-Lloyd, capturing CO2 at ~80% efficiency on a container ship in the Middle East. To date, Seabound has raised $6.8M from world-class investors including Lowercarbon Capital, Y Combinator, Eastern Pacific Shipping, Elemental Impact, and Collaborative Fund, and received £2.3M in grant funding from the UK Government through the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition. Learn more at seabound.co.
About STAX Engineering
STAX's patented, flexible exhaust capture system is designed to fit all ships without modification, even in the most congested ports. Once the exhaust is captured and funneled into the STAX system, it is filtered. STAX removes 99% of particulate matter (PM) and 95% of oxides of nitrogen (NOx) before being released as purified gas. To date, STAX has treated 1,151 at-berth vessels for a cumulative of 24,000 hours and 185 tons of pollutants-and counting. In 2024, STAX was named a winner of Fast Company's Next Big Things in Tech, recognizing its innovative contributions to emissions reduction and cleaner air solutions. Learn more at staxengineering.com.
About lomarlabs
lomarlabs is a corporate venture lab launched by Lomar in March 2023, that provides maritime tech companies with the physical infrastructure, support, industry insight, expertise and funding they need to responsibly test, prove and commercialise their solutions; catalysing their entry into a market that's rapidly evolving. Learn more at lomarlabs.com.
About the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition (CMDC)
This project is funded by UK Government through the UK Shipping Office for Reducing Emissions (UK SHORE) programme in the Department for Transport. UK SHORE has allocated over £230m since 2022 to over 247 projects, leveraging over £107m private investment. Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, is the main delivery partner for UK SHORE interventions, including the flagship CMDC and ZEVI competitions.
Maritime is a key sector which needs to find innovative solutions to its carbon footprint in order to contribute to the UK's decarbonisation agenda. The UK SHORE programme is a key part of that work, supporting research and development to unlock an industry-led transition towards Net Zero and deliver economic growth, in line with the Government's missions and the Plan for Change.
The UK SHORE programme consists of multiple headline projects situated all across the UK from Belfast and Orkney to Cornwall and Portsmouth and all points in between - showcasing the exceptional, highly-skilled work being delivered throughout the UK economy. UK SHORE is supporting 500 organisations, unlocking investment potential in UK technologies, at UK ports and at UK shipyards.
Media Contact
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