Exhaust Gas Purification System

Project Information

SulPure

Grant agreement ID: 946288

DOI

10.3030/946288

Project closed

EC signature date 24 February 2020

Start date 1 March 2020

End date 31 December 2022

Funded under

• INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Innovation In SMEs

Total cost

€ 3 476 997,50

EU contribution

€ 2 433 898,25

Coordinated by

DAPHNE TECHNOLOGY SA
Switzerland

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - SulPure (Exhaust Gas Purification System)

Reporting period: 2021-03-01 to 2022-12-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

The advent of international sea transport, which carries over 90% of worldwide trade, has shaped an interconnected global economy, but at a cost to our planet’s ecosystem. Maritime transport annually emits >1 billion tons of carbon dioxide (CO2), sulphur oxides (SOx) and nitrogen oxides (NOx). Sulphur emissions (as SOx) are one of the most severe pollutants and is increasing by up to 20% annually along the main shipping routes, including the European coasts. In the atmosphere, SOx leads to acid rain, which harms crops, forests, aquatic species and contributes to the acidification of the oceans. The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) has addressed these concerns by introducing regulations for the prevention of air pollution under Annex VI of the MARPOL Convention (known as IMO2020). Annex VI imposes a framework of mandatory limits on emissions of SOx (and other air pollutants such as NOx). As it is estimated that <1% of the worldwide fleet is operating within these regulatory limits for sulphur emissions for open ocean areas, there is a major need in the shipping market to provide a solution that is commercially feasible and can comply with air emission regulations. Daphne has thus developed SulPure: a next generation technology for exhaust gas purification. SulPure is an all-in-one, ready to install, turnkey solution for the shipping industry that primarily focuses on removing SOx pollutants from marine engine exhaust gas (SulPure can also remove NOx pollutants from exhaust gas). The overall objectives of the implementation of the action of project 946288 SulPure was to install the first SulPure alpha prototype on a land-based marine engine burning heavy fuel oil (HFO) with high sulfur content (achieving TRL 7) and have the pollutant emission reduction of the system witnessed by a Classification Society to receive certification (achieving TRL 8) such that DAPHNE can sell SulPure to the market. In Q32022, the alpha-release SulPure (Containerized SulPure Prototype (CSP)) was installed at the Maritime Center of Hochschule Flensburg that has a land-based marine engine burning HFO with 2.4%m sulphur content. The CSP was tested with Classification Society Bureau Veritas (BV) and the CSP demonstrated SOx air emissions in compliance with MARPOL Annex VI Regulation 14 at the defined engine load points specified in the test protocol, and a Certificate of Compliance was issued from BV, thereby achieving the overall objections of project 946288 SulPure.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

In the first stage of project 946288 SulPure, an entire SulPure R&D exhaust gas cleaning prototype was built, installed, tested, and optimized. The prototype demonstrated >98% reduction of SO2 (exceeding the initial goal) and 72% reduction of NOx from exhaust gas. External evaluation from classification society Lloyd’s Register resulted in a hazard assessment of the equipment and processes integral to SulPure, which indicated that Daphne’s proposed SulPure system would be able to be piloted on a vessel and/or land-based testing facility. After completing the R&D SulPure prototype, DAPHNE first pursued attempts to implement a SulPure alpha release according to class and flag recommendations onboard a commercial ship. In consideration of the feedback from the discussions with several ship owners (including Briese Shiffahrt/Valartis Group and CMB), DAPHNE provided the alpha SulPure release as a standalone and autonomous exhaust gas cleaning system that could be installed on any vessel. DAPHNE named this SulPure alpha release the Containerized SulPure Prototype (CSP) due to the system being provided in 3 ISO containers. Over a period of 2 years, DAPHNE did not reach an agreement to install the CSP on a vessel as a result of the disruptions to the maritime industry and worldwide economy caused by the COVID-19 epidemic and the Russian-Ukraine war. As a result of this, DAPHNE then pursued to validate the CSP on a land-based pilot. A signed Technical Testing Agreement from the Maritime Centre at Flensburg University of Applied Sciences (Hochschule Flensburg) located in Flensburg, Germany was executed to install the CSP on their land-based testing facility that has a marine engine burning HFO. DAPHNE then installed the CSP at the Maritime Center and the CSP was tested with Classification Society Bureau Veritas (BV). The CSP demonstrated SOx air emissions in compliance with MARPOL Annex VI Regulation 14. The compliant SOx emissions results were signed and stamped by Mr Hajo Gerkens, and a Certificate of Compliance was issued, thereby achieving the overall objections of project 946288 SulPure.
Extensive dissemination and communication activities were performed during the project. A project website (https://daphnetechnology.com/) was updated to provide information about the SulPure product and assure an information base for networking activities with the relevant stakeholders. Daphne Technology also created a significant following on their established LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/daphne-technology/mycompany/) and Twitter (@DaphneTech) pages. Daphne provided 32 press releases on their website, published 15 non-scientific and non peer-reviewed publications, attended 1 exhibition (NorShipping 2022), produced 1 flyer, posted +160 social media posts (on LinkedIn and Twitter), executed 2 communication campaigns (as part of a crowdfunding/PR digital campaign), participated in 8 conferences (including online), produced 3 videos (technical demonstrations and company presentations), and pitched at 25 events (in-person and online). In terms of number of persons reached, in the context of all dissemination and communication activities, 1725 were from the Scientific Community, 2739 were from Industry, 2917 were from Civil Society, +100,000 were from General Public, 632 were Policy Makers, 605 were Media, 1250 were Investors, and 1236 were potential customers. In 2022, DAPHNE won 10th place in the TOP 100 Swiss Startup Awards 2022 (fifth year in a row of being in the TOP 100 Swiss startups).

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The exhaust gas cleaning technology behind SulPure is the conversion of sulphur oxides in exhaust gas into ammonium sulphate, a technique mentioned in the Best Available Techniques Reference Document (BRef) for Large Combustion Plants written by the European Commission. However, the technique cited in BRef uses an architecture that consumes 1 – 3% of the power generated, which results in a considerable carbon footprint even for petrochemical applications. In contrast, the alpha release SulPure prototype resulted in 0.7% of power consumption following the same rational. From an economic perspective, SulPure allows the use of cheaper fuels, and produces ammonium sulphate as a by-product, which can be used in the agricultural industry as a fertiliser. In addition, by reducing SOx emissions to air (and also NOx emissions) from the shipping industry, Daphne’s SulPure will reduce acid rain, which will benefit crops, forests, aquatic species and the health of mankind. With the success achieved in the SulPure pilot, the collaboration with several ship owners for SulPure installations, and the progression of discussions with classification societies, DAPHNE is in good standing to introduce a novel exhaust gas cleaning system to the maritime market and scale its organization to fulfill commercial orders in 2023.

Daphne Technology Hexagon

Daphne Technology SulPure Logo

Daphne Technology Logo