Swiss engine designer WinGD has announced that its engines will be able to run on methanol and ammonia from 2024 and 2025 respectively.
WinGD’s multi-fuel solutions will be based on their well-established diesel-fueled X engines and dual-fuel X-DF engines. The ability to use zero-carbon or carbon-neutral fuels such as ammonia and methanol in both of its core engine types will give ship operators unprecedented flexibility in how they reduce emissions.
Both X and X-DF engine series are already compatible with low-carbon fuels - liquid biofuel or biogas respectively - which can provide significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. As one example, the tanker operator Terntank bunkered and operated its X-DF engines on liquefied biogas as long ago as 2018. The full, long-term use of carbon-neutral or zero-carbon fuels is the next step on this pathway.
Emissions from WinGD engines can already be optimized in line with IMO’s incoming Carbon Intensity Index(CII) and Energy Efficient Design Index for Existing Ships(EEXI). Hybridization of the power arrangement is one option. WinGD offers system integration services that maximize fuel efficiency by selecting and sizing hybrid components and the electrical system in parallel with the main engine.
The timeframe for ammonia and methanol capability is part of a wider ambition to grow sales of multi-fueled engines capable of operating on carbon-neutral fuels to 50% of the company’s orderbook by 2030. This is in line with the industry predictions of when these fuels will be available at scale and a viable fuel choice for deep-sea vessels.