This article is part of the TKI-kompassi project, funded by the Regional Council of Southwest Finland. This series of articles looks at the RDI investments made by businesses operating in the Turku region.
The company’s latest innovation is an onboard carbon capture system, which captures carbon dioxide emissions from ship exhaust gases. Langh Tech has a great advantage in being able to pilot new solutions in the subsidiary Langh Ship’s vessels.
The Finnish technology company Langh Tech’s business idea is crystallised in a painting on the company office wall. The painting depicts vessels docked at the Hamburg port, puffing dark exhaust clouds from their chimneys. The air is thick with pollution.
– Sometimes I say to our guests that this painting made us realise that something must be done to this situation, CEO Laura Langh-Lagerlöf says.
Langh Tech develops green tech solutions for shipyards and shipping companies all over the world. The company’s scrubbers remove sulphur dioxide from ship exhaust gases. Their ballast water treatment systems prevent invasive species from spreading from one marine area to another.
The company’s latest innovation is an onboard carbon capture system. It captures 20-30 per cent of the ship exhaust gases’ carbon dioxide and thus reduces the carbon footprint of ships powered by fuel oil or diesel fuel.
Two Companies’ Useful Symbiosis
Langh Tech would not exist without its sister company Langh Ship. It is the family enterprise’s shipping company, whose cargo vessels operate mainly in Europe. All Langh Tech’s solutions have originally been developed to meet the needs of the subsidiary’s ships.
A developing marine technology company benefits a lot from a shipping company of its own. The subsidiary’s ships work as test platforms and as first references when the product is ready for business.
– We can test, make mistakes, build again, enhance and test the product again in our own ships. This lowers the threshold of trying out new things, Langh-Lagerlöf says.
New innovations are the driving force in Langh Tech. The company has about 20 employees. The R&D team consist of engineers in the field of technology. Many of them have graduated from the local university Åbo Akademi.
– Many have joined us directly from university and done their thesis with us, Langh-Lagerlöf says.
A Competitive Edge in Energy Efficiency
So far, most of Langh Tech’s revenue comes from sulphur scrubbers. Langh-Lagerlöf sees great business potential also in carbon capture units, since maritime regulations drive the maritime sector players to further reduce their emissions.
The company’s carbon capture unit is not a unique product, but compared to its competitors, it is smaller and more energy efficient. In addition, the capture process produces sodium carbonate, which has a wide market in various industries. It is used for instance in glass manufacturing.
– Marine regulations stand as an obstacle to this business since they do not yet recognise the carbon capture process. Reporting assumes that the carbon emissions caused by the ship fuel are released into the atmosphere. I hope this will change soon, Langh-Lagerlöf says.
The company’s carbon capture unit has been tested for a year in Langh Ship’s cargo vessel m/s Laura. During 2025 it will be installed in four customer ships. The carbon capture process produces liquid which needs to be transported to the shore. The port needs to be equipped with certain infrastructure.
– Thus, the product is best suited for short-sea shipping vessels, which have at least one permanent port, Langh-Lagerlöf says.
Langh Tech’s carbon capture unit has been piloted in Langh Ship’s cargo vessel m/s Laura for a year. During 2025, it will be installed in four customer ships. In the picture: the CEO of Langh Tech, Laura Langh-Lagerlöf.
R&D Funding Helps Along the Way
Langh Tech has utilised R&D funding in its operations. The company started by developing sulphur scrubbers. The EU’s Motorways of the Seas programme offered significant funding for developing and piloting the installations of the scrubbers.
– It played a big role. The funding gave us the courage to start producing sulphur scrubbers, Langh-Lagerlöf says.
With the support of Business Finland, the company has investigated the business potential of carbon capture units worldwide and the end-use applications of sodium carbonate produced in the carbon capture process.
Business Finland funding has also helped in testing, which chemical suits best for capturing carbon dioxide from ship exhaust gases. The research was conducted in collaboration with the local Åbo Akademi University.
Langh-Lagerlöf regrets that in Finland, R&D funding cannot be used under any circumstances for commercialising products.
– Perhaps Finland is even known worldwide for having great ideas and innovations but not being able to do business based on them. Maybe Finland could invest in R&D projects which would be continued until commercialisation, assuring that the projects would result in a marketable product.
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Text: Heidi Pelander
Photos: Heidi Pelander ja Langh Tech Oy Ab
This article is part of the TKI-kompassi project, funded by the Regional Council of Southwest Finland.
