Swiss marine power company WinGD is geared up to unveil an ethanol-powered two-stroke engine next year, with deliveries expected to commence in 2027.
According to the officials from the company, the engine is going to be applicable for both newbuildings and for retrofitting projects.
As disclosed, the new solution is to be adapted from WinGD’s X-DF-M methanol-fueled engine that has already been approved by classification societies. The ethanol-powered engine is said to utilize the same combustion concept and is subject to the same safety regulations as the methanol counterpart.
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The diesel-cycle concept, available across all bore sizes that the Switzerland-based marine technology provider currently offers, is expected to boast an adapted control system and fuel injector nozzle arrangement to account for the higher energy density that ethanol possesses, as well as for the consequently lower fuel volumes needed.
Per WinGD, this development comes after a decade-long testing of the potential of using ethanol as a fuel to power marine engines. More specifically, WinGD has reportedly been investigating the potential of this alternative energy source since 2014, i.e., since the commencement of a project funded by the Swiss Federal Office of Energy.
As elaborated, the company later led work to engineer a ‘flexible’ injector for alcohol-based fuels as part of the 2016 HERCULES 2 project, which is funded by the European Union (EU).
It is understood that WinGD is presently holding talks with a number of ship owners, ethanol fuel suppliers and classification societies about the inaugural commercial applications of the new engine, though whether the solution will be optimized for ethanol only or for methanol with secondary ethanol capability is yet to be disclosed.
As part of the efforts to connect key enablers in the ethanol value chain, WinGD representatives have shared that the company recently became a founding member of the Global Ethanol Association, as well.
It is worth noting that recently, German engine maker Everllence (previously known under the name MAN ES Solutions) ran a 90-bore liquid gas injection methanol (ME-LGIM) engine on ethanol, validating its suitability for a new clean fuel.
The test, said to be ‘the world’s first, was run in Japan. It builds on the ME-LGIM platform, which was launched over ten years ago.
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