Page 35: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (December 2014)

www.marinelink.com 35 75TH ANNIVERSARY PROFILES

Simply put, MAN Diesel & Turbo is all about power with one of the world’s premiere line-up of product, services and systems. The company invests regularly and mightily in

R&D to ensure that it is on the lead- ing edge of power solutions. “We place a particular focus on

R&D and see the refi nement of our existing technology and, especially, the introduction of innovation to the diesel concept, as the only way of assuring our future,” said Grøne. “A great part of our current strategy is the expansion of our dual-fuel con- cept and the development of engines that satisfy every industrial niche and have the potential to run on a grow- ing variety of fuel types.”

Case in point is the company’s lead position in the supply of engines fuelled by LNG to power a burgeon- ing fl eet of new ships, a develop- ment that will help ship owners to dramatically reduce emission while potentially saving fuel costs. “Looking back at 2014, I think

MAN Diesel & Turbo’s primary suc- cess within the low-speed market has been the very positive development of our low-speed, dual-fuel ME-GI engine,” said Grøne. “Since its in- troduction it has really captured the market’s imagination with the result that our order book now stands at over 70 units with more, identifi ed orders to come.”

The year 2014 was also signifi - cant as it saw the completion of the fi rst ME-GI unit at Doosan with a successful Factory Acceptance

Test confi rming the viability of the

ME-GI concept. The ME-GI has added important references such as the fi rst gas-powered car carrier for United European Car Carriers.

Another important reference includes the expansion of the number of fuel types that the ME-GI can run on to include ethane, and in a variant of the GI concept, the LGI engine us- ing methanol and, later, LPG.

Companies such as MAN Diesel & Turbo are an excellent bellwether of the overall market in general, and signs point to a sustained market. “Our Two-Stroke licensee reported that the order book for low speed engines has obviously slumped since its historic peak in 2009 but 2014 showed a determined upturn in the curve and a defi nite, positive trend,” said Grøne. “Simultaneously, in terms of manufacturing, there is still plenty of two-stroke engine capacity. Therefore, overall, I think we can only be positive about the future. However, regulatory changes, triggered by enhanced environmen- tal awareness in the marine market calls for an even more intensifi ed and costly development effort.”

Looking Far Forward

With large, capital intensive sys- tems such as propulsion, long-range planning is as critical to success as near-term performance. “We are looking ahead to 2015 but, of course, also much further forward than that,” said Grøne. “If, as predicted, the world commercial fl eet is to grow by 100% over the next 20 years, than this means 1,500 - 2,000 new ships will be added every year, which means some 25,000,000 more kW will need fuel every year. The big question arising from this is: which fuels and what technology?”

Obviously, the Tier III emission regulations for NOx and SOx now to be enforced in the North American

NECAs and in SECAs are going to have a major effect on the marine market. “Through primary measures and refi nement of our existing diesel technology, our entire engine portfo- lio has already been Tier II-compliant for several years,” said Grøne.

However, to meet the even stricter

Tier III requirements, secondary measures will be necessary. “Fortunately, we already have the necessary technology in place, much of it integrated within the engines, and I am confi dent that the market will take even more to our solutions than they already have. Primary among these are our SCR (Selec- tive Catalytic Reduction) and EGR (Exhaust Gas reduction) systems for

NOx control. Implementation of these on board will be a major task in the future for the industry,” said

Grøne. In the coming year, MAN

Diesel & Turbo has no major new product introduction imminent, rather it will continue on its path toward developing and refi ning its power products to meet immediate needs and long-range projections. “I would say that the intention is not so much to introduce further, new products or services but, rather, to continue rolling out what we have already set in motion,” said Grøne. “We expect the order for the 100th

ME-GI engine to be announced dur- ing 2015. Our G-series of engines, characterized by their signifi cant contribution to lower CO2 emissions, will also shortly reach order number 1,000 less than fi ve years after fi rst being announced. The ever-expand- ing fl eet of engines of our design will be looked after by MAN PrimeServ, our after-sales division, who will also be kept busy by a number of signifi - cant projects involving the conver- sion of two-stroke, HFO-burning en- gines to dual-fuel running following the ME-GI concept, and other large retrofi t projects for applying new technologies to the existing fl eet.”

For the increased retrofi t activity anticipated at PrimeServ, the com- pany developed a host of products, the most recent from this year being

MAN EcoCam. The EcoCam is a hydraulically controlled, variable exhaust-timing solution that enables a variable cam profi le without any mechanical modifi cation of the cam- shaft. When it is active, the engine can run at a lower load with reduced fuel consumption. It can also be deactivated whenever necessary, al- lowing the engine to run at full load.

We also expect an increased activity in replacing older propellers with the more effi cient, MAN Kappel- designed propellers.

MAN Diesel & Turbo: Power Play “A great part of our current strategy is the expansion of our dual-fuel concept and the development of engines that satisfy every in- dustrial niche and have the potential to run on a growing variety of fuel types.”

Ole Grøne,

SVP, Low-Speed Promotion and Sales

MAN Diesel & Turbo has developed a lead in the supply of modern engines with dual fuel capability. Here we speak with the company’s Ole Grøne, SVP, Low-

Speed Promotion and Sales, for his insights on the company’s future trajectory.

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