MAN Energy Solutions unveiled yesterday its latest low-speed, dual-fuel engine, a MAN B&W ME-GA type, at a ceremony live-streamed from its Copenhagen Research Centre.
The new engine is an Otto-cycle variant of the company’s ME-GI engine, designed for LNG/fuel-oil running.
The engine manufacturer said that the ME-GA engine is inherently Tier II and Tier III compliant in gas-operation mode. To fully utilise its dual-fuel potential in Tier III areas, the engine is being offered with Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR).
“We initiated this ME-GA project in late 2017 when we recognised a strong market desire for a lower-cost alternative to the ME-GI engine, driven primarily by the LNG carrier market. Crucially, this new supplement to our dual-fuel portfolio continues our mission to decarbonise shipping and further the maritime energy transition to sustainable fuels,” Wayne Jones OBE , Chief Sales Officer, MAN Energy Solutions, said.
MAN Energy Solutions aims to start testing the first, commercial ME-GA design by the end of this year, with the first engine delivery following in early 2022.
Bjarne Foldager, Senior Vice President and Head of Two-Stroke Business, expects the ME-GA to become standard among LNG carriers.
The company’s portfolio of two-stroke, dual-fuel engines has accumulated over 1.6 million operating hours from the 155 engines (6.3 GW) currently in service – all running on clean fuels such as LNG, LPG, ethane and methanol.
With fuel prices and availability currently in flux, MAN Energy Solutions expects the option of retrofitting to dual-fuel engines to increasingly become a necessity.