The 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 established diesel-fueled X engines and dual-fuel X-DF engines, which are already compatible with low-carbon fuels, liquid biofuel or biogas respectively.
The ability to use zero-carbon or carbon-neutral fuels such as ammonia and methanol in both of the company’s engine types will help operators reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
“Our commitment to deliver engine technologies to enable the use of clean fuels by 2025 means that ship owners and operators can already invest in ships that are ready to use ammonia and methanol today, safe in the knowledge that WinGD will have the technologies available to power their vessels reliably, efficiently and cleanly,” said Dominik Schneiter, Vice President Research & Development at WinGD.
“Emissions from WinGD engines can already be optimised in line with International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) incoming Carbon Intensity Index (CII) and Energy Efficient Design Index for Existing Ships (EEXI),” stated the Swiss company.
Additionally, WinGD offers system integration services that maximise 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 order book by 2030, according to a statement.
“By 2030, many of the ships that will be sailing in 2050, the date of IMO’s greenhouse gas emission reduction target, will already have been ordered,” said Director of Global Sales at WinGD, Volkmar Galke who went on to add that this will allow the company to support ship owners and operators in their decarbonisation choices.
