STAX Engineering is making its mark in the UK. The company joined a consortium that won £1.1 million in government funding for its first European project. The initiative, called PortZero, is led by carbon capture startup Seabound and includes Associated British Ports and Lomar Shipping.
PortZero aims to cut emissions from berthed vessels while improving air quality in port communities. STAX will integrate its emissions capture barge with Seabound’s carbon capture technology. The solution provides a cost-effective alternative to shore power, which remains largely underbuilt across Europe.
Mike Walker, STAX CEO, said, “Clean air can’t wait. This technology delivers results now, without disrupting port operations.”
The UK Department for Transport’s Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition (CMDC6) supports the project. ABP’s Max Harris added, “We are excited to explore innovative solutions that improve air quality and support maritime decarbonization.”
“This project is a breakthrough moment for ports and for the maritime decarbonisation landscape,” said Stylianos Papageorgiou, Managing Director of lomarlabs.
“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.”
“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.”
