Hyundai develops hybrid engine

Hyundai Heavy Industries Group has succeeded in developing a hybrid engine that uses a mixture of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and hydrogen for the first time in Korea. Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering and Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. announced that they have successfully completed the performance verification of the 1.5MW LNG/hydrogen hybrid engine (HiMSEN).

The LNG/hydrogen hybrid engine is an eco-friendly engine that significantly reduces the emission of various harmful exhaust gases such as sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides, carbon dioxide and fine dust by selectively using diesel fuel and LNG/hydrogen mixture fuel. It is the first stage of hydrogen engines. In a performance test, this engine met the conditions of Tier 3, the highest grade among nitrogen oxide regulations set by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), proving its strong effects on reducing carbon dioxide and methane slips.

If an LNG/hydrogen hybrid engine is applied to a liquefied hydrogen carrier, it will be able to further maximize the effects of ship operations. This is because the hydrogen lost during a voyage can be minimized by reusing hydrogen boil off gas (BOG) generated during the transportation process as fuel.

The LNG/hydrogen hybrid engine is expected to come in handy in land-based small power generation and distributed power generation. This is because the LNG/hydrogen hybrid engine has a longer lifespan than hydrogen fuel cells for small-scale onshore power generation and is excellent in adjusting power generation output according to changes in electrical loads.