Long Beach-based startup STAX Engineering has deployed its pollution-capturing tech in ports in Los Angeles, Long Beach, and Oakland, according to Bloomberg.
The L.A. and Long Beach ports reportedly produce about "100 tons of smog daily." That's more pollution than the emissions from 6 million cars, according to Environmental and Energy Study Institute data cited by Bloomberg. Air pollution can cause grave health problems, especially for communities near ports. These toxic gases can lead to millions of deaths per year and billions of dollars in losses with missed work and medical care, as the news service notes.
To mitigate this, the California Air Resources Board has instituted regulations for vessels at ports.
They now have to reduce their pollution by 80% while berthed. One way vessels do this is by plugging into electrical power with an extension cord (rather than run their engines to produce power), but upgrading vessels with the plug-in equipment is costly. Some vessels only occasionally dock in California — and others only come once — so it's not always ideal for them.
This is where STAX Engineering's pollution-capturing tech comes in. The tech — compared to a "range hood" by Bloomberg — filters exhaust from the ships and then releases water vapor and carbon dioxide. It reportedly removes 95% of nitrogen oxide and 99% of diesel particulate matter. It also runs on renewable diesel. The company aims to upgrade the system to also filter out carbon dioxide.
Vessels can pay an hourly fee to use the tech.
While the capture system and shore power are good options for vessels to meet the new regulations, they are bridge solutions while the industry transitions to cleaner alternative energy sources, such as methanol and ammonia.
As of February, the tech had serviced 44 vessels, and it has the capacity to service 146 yearly, per Bloomberg.
While it will take time for the shore power to be utilized while the ships are upgraded, CEO Mike Walker says this system will fill the gap.
"What we have now is this network of distributed capture vehicles that will be pre-treating the NOx [nitrogen oxide] and PM [particulate matter] of all these vessels, and now we can build out a carbon solution," he told Bloomberg.
Air pollution caused by exhaust is alarmingly high. A report from April 2023 showed that more than 120 million Americans live in counties with unhealthy ozone and particulate air pollution levels, with L.A. named one of the worst. However, further understanding critical climate issues helps researchers identify the worst problems and how to fix them — and empowers individuals to make healthier choices.
STAX Engineering only has two systems set up now but plans to have 20 up and running by 2025, which will be able to service the entire state, per Bloomberg.
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