E!115520/COD15 Remote SO2 detection and monitoring system in real-time for maritime applications

Maritime traffic is steadily raising SO2 emissions with negative impacts on environment and health. Since 2020, International Maritime Organization (IMO) decision entered into force for global fuel sulphur limit of 0.50%. Current maritime authorities’ practices include using staff on ships entering the port to collect and analyse fuel samples (which is labour intensive) stationary sniffers at checkpoints (that are not reliable as most ships can switch off the engine while passing on the momentum below sniffers) or drones with sensor payloads flying through the ship flumes. During the project, Canadian and Norwegian SME and research teams will collaborate to develop a sensor system for remote monitoring of SO2 emissions from ship exhaust and deduce the fuel sulphur content. The overall ambition of REMON-SO2 project is to facilitate maritime authorities to enforce environmental regulations by establishing and demonstrating a system to remotely detect, identify and quantify SO2 emissions in real-time.

Maritime traffic is steadily raising SO2 emissions with negative impacts on environment and health. Since 2020, International Maritime Organization (IMO) decision entered into force for global fuel sulphur limit of 0.50%. Currently the maritime authorities use staff on ships entering the port to collect and analyse fuel samples (which is labour-intensive), stationary sniffers at checkpoints (that are not reliable as most ships can switch off the engine while passing on the momentum below sniffers) or drones with sensor payloads flying through the ship flumes. The overall ambition of the project is to facilitate maritime authorities’ law enforcement work by establishing and demonstrating a system that will be able to remotely detect, identify and quantify SO2 emissions in real-time and identify the corresponding sulphur content. The overall goal of this project is to design and develop a compact sensor system that can detect, identify, and quantify SO2 emissions in real-time at a remote distance of few kms along the line of sight from port areas. The project has the ambition to lead to a product that can remotely and continuously monitor for ship fuel sulphur compliance and law enforcement using a stationary installation in ports or using mobile aerial scanning for covering larger area.