According to Bloomberg, Long Beach-based startup STAX Engineering has deployed its pollutant detection technology at ports in Los Angeles, Long Beach and Oakland.

The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach reportedly produce about “100 tons of smog a day.” That’s more pollutants than the exhaust of 6 million cars, according to data from the Environmental and Energy Study Institute cited by Bloomberg. Air pollution can cause serious health problems, especially in communities near ports. These toxic gases can lead to millions of deaths each year and billions of dollars in lost work and medical care, the news service notes.

To curb this, the California Air Resources Board has enacted regulations for ships in ports.

They now have to reduce their pollution by 80% while docked. One way ships do this is by plugging into power via an extension cord (instead of running their engines to generate electricity), but upgrading the ships with the plug-in equipment is costly. Some ships only dock in California occasionally – and others only come once – so it’s not always ideal for them.

That’s where STAX Engineering’s pollution capture technology comes in. The technology – likened by Bloomberg to a “cooker hood” – filters the ships’ exhaust fumes and then releases water vapor and carbon dioxide. It reportedly removes 95% of nitrogen oxides and 99% of diesel particulates. It also runs on renewable diesel. The company plans to upgrade the system to filter out carbon dioxide as well.

Ships can pay an hourly fee to use the technology.

While the containment system and shore-side power supply for ships are good ways to comply with the new regulations, they are only stopgap solutions while the industry switches to cleaner alternative energy sources such as methanol and ammonia.

As of February, the technology has serviced 44 ships and has the capacity to service 146 ships annually, according to Bloomberg.

While it will take some time before shore power can be used while ships are being modernized, CEO Mike Walker believes this system will fill that gap.

“What we now have is this network of distributed capture vehicles that pre-treat the NOx (nitrogen oxides) and PM (particulate matter) from all of these ships, and now we can build a carbon solution,” he told Bloomberg.

Air pollution caused by exhaust fumes is alarmingly high. An April 2023 report showed that more than 120 million Americans live in counties with health-harming ozone and particulate pollution, with LA named as one of the worst counties. But a better understanding of critical climate issues is helping researchers identify and solve the worst problems—and empowering individuals to make healthier choices.

STAX Engineering currently has only two systems in place, but plans to have 20 systems operational by 2025 that can serve the entire state, according to Bloomberg.

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