The Buxtehude-based shipping company NSB will also be involved in the field of carbon dioxide removal (CDR) in the future and has entered into a partnership with the Munich-based company Phlair.
Under the agreement, Phlair, a direct air capture (DAC) company, will provide carbon dioxide removal (CDR) credits generated by its DAC technology. The aim is to support the NSB in reducing unavoidable and difficult-to-reduce residual emissions from maritime onshore operations. The credits are generated by capturing CO₂ from the atmosphere at Phlair’s Dawn DAC facility and storing it permanently underground.
Until Phlair starts delivering CDR, NSB intends to cover Scope 1 emissions by using alternative zero-emission technology and use DAC to combat its Scope 3 emissions, according to the announcement of the collaboration.
“NSB’s partnership with Phlair underlines the role that carbon removal technologies can play in industries where carbon emissions are difficult to reduce. Shipping is one of the most challenging sectors in terms of decarbonization,” it said. It is responsible for around 3% of global CO₂ emissions, and even with advances in fuel efficiency and the use of alternative fuels, some emissions will remain. It is precisely with these hard-to-reduce emissions that CO₂ removal is most urgently needed.
“Direct capture and storage is one of the most scientific and reliable approaches to CO₂ removal. This ensures that our commitments have measurable impact,” said Tim Ponath, CEO of NSB. “We chose to partner with Phlair because we want to achieve more than most current options can do today. Our goal is simple: what we emit in a given year, we want to capture in that same year. We are aiming for a measurable and direct effect. That’s why we are now starting with the rapidly developing decarbonization technology.”
The NSB Group, headquartered in Buxtehude and with locations in Singapore, the Philippines, Korea and China, currently manages a fleet of around 50 ships. It is Phlair’s first “maritime customer”. However, its customers include some prominent names such as Google, McKinsey, JPMorganChase, Shopify, Stripe, H&M and Deep Sky.
