Capital Clean Energy Carriers Corp. Joins MIT Maritime Consortium as Founding Member to Advance Research and Development of Groundbreaking Technologies

Rhea-AI Summary

Capital Clean Energy Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ: CCEC) has joined the newly established MIT Maritime Consortium as a Founding Member, alongside the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) and HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering. The consortium aims to develop cutting-edge maritime technologies focusing on:

• Nuclear propulsion and alternative fuels
• Data-powered operational strategies
• Autonomy and cybersecurity
• On-board manufacturing of spare parts

The initiative addresses the maritime shipping industry's environmental impact, which currently accounts for 2% of global energy-related CO2 emissions while transporting 90% of world cargoes. CCEC will contribute operational expertise from its diverse fleet to develop AI-driven models and technological solutions for ship efficiency, predictive maintenance, and autonomous decision-making.

Positive

• Strategic positioning in maritime technology development through founding membership in MIT consortium
• Access to cutting-edge technologies for fleet optimization and efficiency
• Potential competitive advantage through early adoption of innovative maritime solutions

Negative

• None.

Insights

Maritime Industry Analyst

CCEC's founding membership in the MIT Maritime Consortium represents a strategic positioning move in the evolving maritime technology landscape. The consortium brings together academic researchers with industry leaders to tackle critical challenges facing shipping, particularly decarbonization and technological advancement.

This collaboration focuses on several frontier technologies with potential long-term significance: nuclear propulsion systems, alternative fuels, AI-driven operational optimization, autonomous navigation, and onboard 3D printing. For CCEC specifically, the partnership provides privileged access to MIT's research capabilities while allowing the company to contribute operational insights from its diverse fleet.

The shipping industry faces mounting pressure to reduce its 2% contribution to global energy-related CO2 emissions, making technological innovation increasingly crucial. By participating in this consortium, CCEC gains early visibility into emerging solutions that could address these regulatory challenges.

While the announcement lacks specifics on financial commitments or implementation timelines, such academic-industry partnerships typically involve multi-year research cycles before technologies reach commercial application. The collaboration with HD Korea Shipbuilding specifically mentions advancing AI-based autonomous navigation systems, suggesting some near-term focus areas.

This initiative aligns with broader industry trends toward technological solutions for efficiency and emissions reduction, though investors should recognize that substantive operational impacts likely remain several years away.

Technology Investment Strategist

This consortium represents CCEC's bid to access future-critical maritime technologies through academic partnership rather than solely through internal R&D investment. The collaboration architecture—connecting MIT researchers with multiple industry stakeholders—creates an innovation ecosystem that distributes development costs while potentially accelerating technology breakthroughs.

The technology focus areas identified in the consortium have varying commercialization horizons: AI-driven analytics and autonomous navigation systems could yield implementable solutions within 2-5 years, while nuclear propulsion represents a much longer-term transformation with significant regulatory hurdles.

CCEC's strategic positioning here mirrors approaches seen in other capital-intensive industries where pre-competitive research collaboration has proven effective for addressing systemic challenges. By participating at the founding level, CCEC secures a voice in directing research priorities and potential preferential access to resulting intellectual property.

For context, maritime technology adoption traditionally follows extended cycles due to regulatory requirements, safety considerations, and the long service life of vessels. This partnership signals CCEC's recognition that external innovation partnerships are becoming essential to navigate the technological transition facing shipping.

Without financial details or specific technology implementation roadmaps, this remains primarily a strategic positioning move rather than an initiative with immediate operational impact. The consortium's effectiveness will depend on translating academic research into practical, deployable solutions that address both environmental mandates and economic realities of commercial shipping.

ATHENS, Greece, March 26, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Capital Clean Energy Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ: CCEC), an international owner of ocean-going vessels, today announced its participation as a Founding Member of the newly established MIT Maritime Consortium, joining forces with the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) and HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering. This pioneering international collaboration between academia and leading maritime stakeholders is dedicated to developing cutting-edge technologies aimed at enhancing industry competitiveness while reducing environmental impact.

This new international consortium brings together academic and maritime industry leaders, developing new technologies for nuclear propulsion and alternative fuels, data-powered strategies for efficient operation and decision making, autonomy and cybersecurity, as well as on-board manufacturing of spare parts. By addressing climate-harming emissions in the maritime shipping industry - which currently transports 90% of world cargoes, while contributing 2% of global energy-related CO2 emissions - this initiative supports compliant, environmentally friendly operations aligned with the decarbonization goals set by the International Maritime Organization.

Together the members aim to explore new designs that meet the economic, technological and environmental requirements of commercial shipping, assess the feasibility of alternative fuels, develop data-driven algorithms, and enhance autonomous platforms focused on climate, sustainability, AI and AR for manufacturing. The MIT Maritime Consortium’s Founding Members include the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS), Capital Clean Energy Carriers Corp., and HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering. Innovation Members include Foresight-Group, Navios Maritime Partners L.P., Singapore Maritime Institute, and Dorian LPG.

Prof. Themis Sapsis, Director of the Center for Ocean Engineering at MIT stated, “This consortium envisions to develop novel engineering solutions towards ship decarbonization, such as nuclear propulsion, advanced data analytics and autonomy, sophisticated cybersecurity frameworks, novel hydrodynamic advancements, and 3D printing technologies, that will create competitive advantage for companies and organizations. “It is an effort that will bring the latest and greatest from MIT, catalyzing synergies between participating companies and almost every department in the School of Engineering, and in close collaboration with the Schwarzman College of Computing, while elevating our programs in technology and policy, which is an essential ingredient for this type of effort,” Sapsis said.

“This consortium brings a powerful collection of significant companies that, together, has the potential to be a global shipping shaper in itself,” said Christopher J. Wiernicki, ABS Chairman and CEO. “The members are all world-class organizations and real difference makers. The ability to harness their experience and know-how, along with MIT’s technology reach creates real jet fuel to drive progress. As well as researching key barriers, bottlenecks and knowledge gaps in the emissions challenge, the consortium looks to enable development of the novel technology and policy innovation that will be key. Long term, the consortium hopes to provide the gravity we will need to bend the curve to reach emissions objectives”.

As a Founding Member of the Consortium, Capital Clean Energy Carriers Corp. hopes to play a pivotal role in providing operational expertise and real-world insights from its diverse fleet, which includes various vessel types and technologies. This collaboration aims to drive innovation, establish robust standards, and shape forward-looking policies. By leveraging these insights, along with consortium members, CCEC, will look to contribute to the development of enhanced AI-driven models and technological solutions aimed at optimizing ship efficiency, improving predictive maintenance, and advancing autonomous decision-making.

“At Capital Clean Energy Carriers Corp., we are spearheading the advancement of cutting-edge technologies in the global maritime industry for a more energy-efficient, safer, and sustainable shipping industry. We firmly believe that the newly founded Maritime Consortium will drive transformative change, fostering innovation in maritime practices, strengthening resilience against challenges, and paving the way for a more sustainable future,” Jerry Kalogiratos, Chief Executive Officer of CCEC commented. CCEC’s participation in the Maritime Consortium is a milestone that underscores the company’s unwavering commitment to cleaner energy solutions shaping a greener future for the industry.

“We are pleased to jointly demonstrate HiNAS [Hyundai intelligent Navigation Assistant System] with Capital as part of our efforts to advance AI-based autonomous navigation. We will initiate integrated verification of various solutions developed in collaboration with Avikus. Through our involvement in this consortium, we aim to set global technology standards and spearhead the development of next-generation eco-friendly ships that are both cost-efficient and dependable,” said Mr. Chang Kwangpil, CTO of HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering.

Learn more about the Maritime Consortium at MIT Maritime Consortium – Maritime Research at MIT: maritime.mit.edu.

About Capital Clean Energy Carriers Corp.
Capital Clean Energy Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ: CCEC), an international shipping company, is one of the world’s leading platforms of gas carriage solutions with a focus on energy transition. CCEC’s in-the-water fleet includes 16 high specification vessels, including 12 latest generation LNG/Cs and four legacy Neo-Panamax container vessels, one of which we have agreed to sell within the first quarter of 2025. In addition, CCEC’s under construction fleet includes six additional latest generation LNG/Cs, six dual-fuel medium gas carriers and four handy liquid CO2/multi-gas carriers, to be delivered between the first quarter of 2026 and the third quarter of 2027.

For more information about the Company, please visit: www.capitalcleanenergycarriers.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

The statements in this press release that are not historical facts may be forward-looking statements (as such term is defined in Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended). These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause the stated or forecasted results to be materially different from those anticipated. Unless required by law, we expressly disclaim any obligation to update or revise any of these forward-looking statements, whether because of future events, new information, a change in our views or expectations, to conform to actual results or otherwise. We assume no responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of the forward-looking statements. We make no prediction or statement about the performance of our common shares.

Contact Details:

Capital GP L.L.C.
Brian Gallagher
EVP Investor Relations
Tel. +44-(770) 368 4996
E-mail: b.gallagher@capitalmaritime.com

Investor Relations / Media
Nicolas Bornozis
Capital Link Inc. (New York)
Tel. +1-212-661-7566
E-mail: ccec@capitallink.com

Source: Capital Clean Energy Carriers Corp.

FAQ

What technologies will the MIT Maritime Consortium develop for CCEC and other members?

The consortium will develop nuclear propulsion, advanced data analytics, autonomy systems, cybersecurity frameworks, hydrodynamic advancements, and 3D printing technologies.

How will CCEC's participation in the MIT Maritime Consortium benefit its operations?

CCEC will gain access to AI-driven models and technological solutions for optimizing ship efficiency, improving predictive maintenance, and advancing autonomous decision-making.

Who are the other Founding Members alongside CCEC in the MIT Maritime Consortium?

The American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) and HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering are the other Founding Members.

What environmental impact does the maritime industry currently have that CCEC aims to address?

The maritime industry transports 90% of world cargoes while contributing 2% of global energy-related CO2 emissions.