MAN Energy Solutions discloses new dual-fuel engine

MAN Energy Solutions has introduced the latest addition to its four-stroke engine portfolio, the dual-fuel engine capable of running on LNG, diesel and HFO as well as a number of more sustainable fuels including biofuel blends and synthetic natural gas.

The engine was unveiled at SMM, the world’s largest shipping exhibition, where the company’s executive board member of global sales and after-sales Wayne Jones OBE warned that the marine industry is moving too slowly in relation to decarbonisation and is being held back by a lack of regulations that would incentivise a quicker pick-up of synthetic fuels.

The MAN 49/60DF engine type is already available for order and is based on the new 49/60 engine platform that features MAN’s latest technologies, including two-stage turbocharging, second-generation common-rail fuel injection, SaCoS5000 automation system and MAN’s next generation adaptive combustion control 2.0 that automatically sets combustion to optimum levels. The engine also retains existing MAN technologies such as the gas-injection system, pilot-fuel-oil system and MAN SCR (selective catalytic reduction) system.

The 49/60 can start in gas mode where it complies with IMO Tier III without secondary measures. In diesel mode, it complies with Tier III combined with MAN’s SCR system. According to the engine designer, soot emissions are halved in diesel mode due to its new common rail system 2.2, while the 49/60DF’s methane emissions are also drastically reduced in gas mode compared to its predecessor.

The engine’s benchmark efficiency and fuel-flexible design offer multiple paths to emission compliance leading up to 2050, as per the current Fuel EU draft, MAN Energy Solutions said, adding that it plans to introduce a pure diesel engine based on the 49/60 platform in 2023 that will inherently be retrofit-ready for running on methanol and LNG should the demand arise at a later stage.

MAN Energy Solutions’ analysis shows that the supply and demand of green methanol and green ammonia are in balance until 2025 when methanol is projected to take off at scale and by which time ammonia will have made its market debut. Within the next decade, however, the demand for green fuels for shipping will increase steeply, incurring a gap in supply that could potentially lead to a shortage of green fuels and thus curbing decarbonisation.