WinGD to launch ammonia-fuelled engine in 2025
Ammonia's potential to become a zero-emission marine fuel could be unleashed with yet another engine manufacturer committing to deliver larger ammonia-fuelled engines before the end of this decade.
PHOTO: Model of WinGD's dual-fuel ammonia marine engine. WinGD
Swiss marine engine maker Winterthur Gas & Diesel's (WinGD) promises to deliver its first dual-fuel ammonia engine by the first quarter of 2025. That puts it one step behind its competitor MAN Energy Solutions (MAN ES), but ahead of Wärtsilä.
WinGD is developing two-stroke ammonia-powered engines for multiple vessels built by Mitsubishi Shipbuilding. The engine manufacturer also teamed up with Belgian shipowner CMB.Tech in January to design and build ammonia engines for 10 bulk carriers with 210,000 dwt capacity.
The company said the first vessel powered by one of its dual-fuel ammonia engines will enter service in 2026, rather than 2027 as previously announced.
Meanwhile, MAN ES recently completed combustion tests on its two-stroke dual-fuel ammonia engine, which it will deliver to a shipyard by the fourth quarter of 2024.
The first ammonia-powered vessel with a MAN ES engine is expected to sail by 2026, instead of 2025 as earlier stated by its principal promotion manager Nikolaos Kourtidis during a webinar in March.
On the other hand, Wärtsilä is working on a project called “Ammonia 2-4” along with the classification society DNV, Mediterranean Shipping Company and the National Research Council of Italy. The project partners are developing a lab-based demonstrator for two-stroke marine engines running on ammonia fuel.
The lab-based test engine will be followed by a vessel retrofit for the two-stroke version by 2025. Wärtsilä Marine Power’s director of sustainable fuels and decarbonisation, Mikael Wideskog, confirmed to ENGINE that “the first field trials with ammonia are planned on a large container vessel for the first quarter of 2025.”
By Konica Bhatt
Please get in touch with comments or additional info to news@engine.online
