STAX Engineering, a California-based company specializing in maritime emissions capture and control, has decided to scale up its operations in the United Kingdom with an investment of up to £38 million ($50 million) across UK ports.
Illustration. Courtesy of Navingo
As disclosed, STAX Engineering is currently discussing collaboration opportunities with the Harwich Haven Authority to explore how the demand for ‘immediate’ emission reduction solutions can be met, and ramped up.
According to officials from the American marine technology player, the latest investment builds on the partnership with the Associated British Ports (ABP) Southampton.
STAX Engineering, ABP, British carbon capture technology company Seabound and maritime transport company Lomar Shipping are part of a consortium that recently won funding through the UK’s Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition 6 (CMDC6).
The consortium is working on a project called Port Zero, or Enabling Zero-Emission Ports via Carbon and Air Pollution Capture from Berthed Vessels, which will aim to decarbonize port operations while simultaneously improving air quality in port communities.
As Mike Walker, CEO of Engineering, has noted, efforts to deploy new-generation marine technologies in the UK have been on the rise, with stakeholders showing more and more interest in clean solutions that can scale globally.
“When ports and governments see immediate results without operational disruption, expansion of green solutions and growth-oriented regulation becomes inevitable,” Walker said.
Nevertheless, despite the increasing interest in new, eco-friendly technological solutions, shore power across Europe, in particular, remains limited. Per STAX Engineering, only one out of seven UK ports has the necessary infrastructure and connections in place, while just one in five major ports in the European Union does.
As informed, in Southampton, where two high-voltage systems are installed, only one can be used at a time due to grid constraints.
What is more, according to a July 2025 report by Norway-based classification society DNV, which was done on behalf of Transport & Environment, as little as 20% of the EU’s required electric shore power infrastructure has been installed or commissioned in major ports. This means that most containerships, cruise ships and ferries continue to run on fossil fuels while docked.
Due to this, it is believed that the EU needs to triple or even quadruple its installed shore power in order to meet the established net-zero targets.
Beyond the initiatives made in the UK, STAX Engineering has scaled up its efforts at home, as well, having reportedly controlled nearly 200 tonnes of emissions in California, while working with carbon capture partners to expand these numbers.
The company’s system, which captures emissions from auxiliary engines, is said to slash up to 99% of particulate matter (PM) and 95% of nitrogen oxides (NOx).
To remind, at the end of July this year, California’s Port of Hueneme received its second emissions capture and control barge developed by STAX. The port owns two of these barges, out of a total of eight that are said to be deployed in the state.
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