Seabound Secures $1.48m Grant to Develop Carbon and Emissions Capture at Port of Southampton
August 20, 2025
Seabound has been awarded USD$1.48 million (£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 role in emissions reduction across supply chains. The company's Energy Ventures Accelerator program, 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.
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 (NOₓ) — 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 decarbonization requirements without requiring vessels or ports to undergo retrofits and costly structural changes.
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.
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 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.
The USD$1.48 million (£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.
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.
