|
Consortium to develop medium-speed ammonia engine
By Mike Brezonick 07 April 2021
MAN Energy Solutions announced the beginning of its ‘AmmoniaMot’
(Ammonia Engine in German) project. Initiated by MAN with partners
from industry and research institutes, it aims to define the steps
necessary to produce a dual-fuel, medium-speed engine capable of
running on diesel fuel and ammonia.
Supported by the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology (BMWi),
and due to run for three years from December 2020, project partners
include the University of Munich, Neptun Ship Design, WTZ and Woodward
L’Orange.
“MAN Energy Solutions views this project as closely aligned with its
own strategy for developing sustainable technologies and welcomes the
opportunity to work with external partners,” said MAN Energy Solutions
Dr. Alexander Knafl, head of R&D, Four-Stroke Engineering at MAN in
Augsburg. “For us, the path to decarbonizing the maritime economy
starts with fuel-decarbonization and, in this context, ammonia is an
excellent candidate in that it is carbon-free and eminently green when
produced from renewable electricity sources.”
MAN Energy Solutions Two-Stroke Business has already announced that it
will deliver ammonia-fueled engines by 2024.
Christian
Kunkel, Head of Combustion Development, Four-Stroke R&D, MAN Energy
Solutions, said: “With the DNV classification society forecasting
approximately a 30% share of the maritime fuel market for ammonia by
2050, there is a general need for successful engine projects to
display ammonia’s viability. There is little doubt but that ammonia
will become an important carbon-free energy carrier and thus will
contribute to decarbonising the maritime sector. The AmmoniaMot
project will deliver the base for future, commercial, four-stroke
engines, which will be key in legitimising ammonia as a fuel and
furthering the maritime energy transition.”
Partner roles
The University
of Munich (TUM) will employ a rapid-compression expansion machine to
establish the fundamentals concerning the combustion of ammonia and
will develop, together with MAN, the combustion models necessary for
fast adaption of the technology to different engine sizes.
Neptun Ship
Design (NSD) will analyze international regulations to ensure
technical and safety requirements in a encapsulated, modularized fuel
system. Such scalable components are a prerequisite for the
introduction of ammonia engines in shipping. A prototype of the fuel
system itself will be used on the test engine at WTZ. NSD will work in
close cooperation with MAN on a roadmap regarding which steps are
necessary to use ammonia engines with all necessary ancillary systems
in new ships and conversions.
WTZ is a
specialist within the field of energy conversion and will utilize a
high-speed test engine to develop a combustion concept for the new
engine. This will be done in close collaboration with MAN and will
also form the basis for defining any requirements for exhaust gas
aftertreatment.
Woodward
L’Orange, a global manufacturer of injection systems, will produce the
injection system for the ammonia tests at TUM and WTZ. Together with
MAN, the technology will be scaled up to large, four-stroke engines in
the project.
MAN Energy
Solutions said it will transfer the technology to large-bore,
four-stroke engines and prepare for commercial development and
production.
Green Play Ammonia™, Yielder® NFuel Energy.
Spokane, Washington. 99212
www.exactrix.com
509 995 1879 cell, Pacific.
exactrix@exactrix.com
|
