Page 19: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (January 2023)

MARINE POWER & FUELS

MAN ES will start testing on its ammonia engine in Copenhagen in Q1 2023.

*All images courtesy MAN ES ust 10 years ago, in December 2012, word came Development Center, while there is still much attention paid that General Dynamics NASSCO ? nalized a con- to maximizing the ef? ciency, performance and slashing emis- tract with TOTE, Inc., for the design and con- sions of existing diesel and dual fuel powerplants, the future struction of two 764-ft.-long, 3,100 TEU LNG- fuel discussion had turned squarely on two fuels: methanol

J powered containerships, effectively setting a new and ammonia.

benchmark in green ship technology: at the time the largest ships of any type in the world primarily powered by lique? ed PROGRESS ON AMMONIA natural gas (LNG). On a cold December day, the waterfront site where MAN

A short decade later, Bjarne Foldager, Senior Vice Presi- ES resides is bustling with activity as the power plant com- dent, head of two stroke business at MAN ES, reports that pany works to ? nalize infrastructure to start testing its ammo- in 2022, 54% of all new two-stroke engine orders from the nia engine in Q1 ’23, aiming to deliver the ? rst commercial global power leader – as measured in kW – will be dual fuel, engine in 2024. Working in step with its Japanese licensee a signi? cant jump from 2021 when 23% of new engine orders Mitsui, the ? rst engine being designed is a 60 bore model, a were dual fuel. size selected premised on its popularity to power feeder con-

While LNG still dominates the dual fuel choice today, that tainerships, gas carriers and bulk carriers.

is starting to evolve too as LNG is not the fuel to get ship- “I wanted to show you what we are doing here,” said Fold- owners over the 2050 emissions hump. A broad array of new ager. “This is what the world is waiting for: ammonia. We are fuels – including SNG, biofuels, hydrogen, methanol and am- ready to start burning ammonia on our test engine.” monia – are entering the mix as shipowners eye options that The set-up to test run the ammonia engine takes great care, will enable them to more easily reach ever stricter emission particularly as the company is situated in the middle of Co- and performance mandates. penhagen, in close proximity to a residential and public areas.

MAN ES projects that 2035 will be the tipping point where While there remains some apprehension to ammonia as a ammonia will overtake methanol in terms of demand. “We fuel in maritime premised on its toxicity, Chatterjee was suc- will obviously have to wait and see,” said Hrishikesh Chat- cinct: “If it works in Copenhagen, it will de? nitely work on terjee, Promotion Manager, MAN Energy Solutions. “Many the ship. Failure is not an option.” times when we make our projections, we are conservative. To that end, risk identi? cation and mitigation is the corner- [But] we are expecting ammonia to be a game-changer in the stone, and Chatterjee said that “safety is at the center of every- dual fuel segment.” thing,” with work being conducted on emissions, combustion,

In late 2022 MAN ES’ portfolio of two-stroke, dual-fuel odor/venting, maintenance intervals, corrosion of materials, engines passed a milestone, with more than 1,000 units on elastomer compatibility.

order or in service, with the ME-GI (-Gas Injection) engine On site for the testing, the company is permitted to store a leading the way with more than 500 orders. The ? rst engine maximum of ? ve cubic meters of ammonia, and in conducting tests of the ME-LGI (-Liquid Gas Injection) platform began in its risk assessment of the operation concluded that the biggest 2015, followed by the ? rst sea-trial for the ME-LGIM (meth- risk came in the transfer of ammonia from truck to storage anol) engine in 2016. Development of an ethane (ME-GIE) tank. The ? nal piece of the pre-test puzzle is the construction unit followed in 2016 with sea-trials already in 2017. Cur- of a special shed built around the ammonia tank as well as rently, more than 240 dual-fuel engines have entered service, the ammonia bunkering truck area, sheds with a water spray while an MAN B&W ammonia-fueled engine is due to be de- system and underground storage tank designed to effectively livered to a shipyard by 2024. In total, low-speed, dual-fuel keep potential accidental discharge under control.

MAN B&W engine orders include: ME-GI (538); ME-GIE Testing the engine starts by running fuel through a single (37); ME-LGIM (72); ME-LGIP (139); and ME-GA (214). cylinder, a cylinder that is out? tted with hundreds of sensors

In breaking down the adopter of dual fuel technology, the pie and cameras, high speed cameras taking more than 1000 pic- chart is dominated by containerships and tankers, with a com- tures per second that allow MAN ES to closely monitor the manding 40% of the market apiece. combustion process and to quickly and easily modify the pa-

But today in Copenhagen at the MAN ES Research and rameters to maximize the unit’s ef? ciency. The new ammonia www.marinelink.com 19

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