DuPont: 20% of the Global Fleet Could Have Scrubbers Installed by 2025

DuPont estimates that as much as 20 percent of the global fleet could have scrubber technology installed by 2025.

As much as 20 percent of the global fleet could have scrubbers installed by 2025, according to DuPont Clean Technologies (DuPont).

And in the run up to 2020, Marco Dierico, DuPont's Marine Business Development Manager for Europe, estimates that between 500 to 2,000 additional ships will retrofit with scrubbers.

Commenting in a press release Tuesday, the scrubber manufacturer said that, in the face of the International Maritime Organization's (IMO's) recent decision to implement a 0.50 percent global sulfur cap in 2020, scrubbers offer ship owners and operators a "future-proof" compliance solution with the ability to burn the least expensive bunkers.

"A key question for refiners concerns the future of HFO. If refineries do not have to upgrade their heavy fuel, or install increased hydrotreating capacity, they will prefer not to," said DuPont.

"It is expected that HFO with a higher sulfur content will become significantly less expensive compared to low sulfur fuel oil over time, which will make installation of a scrubber economically sound and future-proof for shippers."

For some, questions remain over certain aspects of the technology, particularly in regards to scrubber waste management, but DuPont said that it "continues to advance, and additional improvements in emission monitoring, washwater treatment, and reduced system footprint are on the horizon."

"With many options, shippers will be able to make smart choices that both protect their bottom line as well as human health."

In August, DuPont announced that, through its subsidiary Belco Technologies Corporation (BELCO), the company had completed the first installations of its in-line, multi-engine marine scrubber on three auxiliary engines of two newbuild bulk carriers.