Operational Milestone For MAN Dual-Fuel

MAN Energy Solutions said its two-stroke, dual-fuel portfolio of more than 250 engines has now logged over 500 000 operational hours.

“This is a massive milestone that highlights the success of the dual-fuel strategy we have laid over the past decade,” said Bjarne Foldager, senior vice president, jead of Two-Stroke Business at MAN Energy Solutions. “The engines’ efficiency—in all fuel modes—is the best in the market, which gives shipowners enormous flexibility, and we note that all fuel modes are employed. Half a million hours of dual-fuel operation stands testament to our leadership in this critical market segment. On behalf of MAN Energy Solutions, I would like to express my thanks and appreciation to our customers for their support, and the trust they have placed in these future-proof solutions.”

MAN Energy Solutions’ ME-GI (-gas injection) and ME-LGI (-liquid gas injection) engines form the core of its two-stroke, dual-fuel portfolio.

Applications for the ME-GI engine include LNG carriers, container vessels, car carriers and bulk carriers. MAN said the diesel principle provides the ME-GI engine with high operational stability and efficiency, including during load changes and fuel change-over, while defining properties such as a stable change-over from fuel to gas with no fuel-penalties are maintained.

With a new injection concept, initially developed for methanol, the ME-LGI concept greatly expanded the company’s dual-fuel portfolio and enabled the exploitation of more low-flash-point and low-sulfur fuels such as ethanol, dimethyl ether and LPG, the company said.

The ME-LGI was developed because the shipping world was interested in operating on alternatives to HFO, MAN said. Methanol and LPG carriers have already operated at sea for many years and many more LPG tankers are currently being built as the global LPG infrastructure grows. With a viable, convenient and comparatively cheap fuel already onboard, it makes sense to use a fraction of the cargo to power the vessel with an important, side-benefit being its positive, environmental performance, MAN said.

“With references in every major marine segment, our dual-fuel portfolio can rightly be considered as mature technology,” Foldager said. “With 2020 and the new IMO emissions legislation fast approaching, our ME-GI and ME-LGI engines continue to act as standard bearers for environmentally friendly, reliable propulsion technology with their seamless switching between fuels and elimination of methane slip. Furthermore, their use of the diesel combustion principle ensures that they can easily adapt to run on whatever fuels the industry may prefer in the future.”