Hyundai’s shipbuilding division (HHI-SBD) has ordered six MAN B&W G95ME-C10.5-LGIM dual-fuel main engines for six 17,000 TEU container vessels being built for logistics company A.P. Moller – Maersk.
The ME-LGIM dual-fuel engines can run on conventional fuel and green methanol and are scheduled to be built in Korea by Hyundai’s engine machinery division (HHI-EMD). The powertrain is stated to deliver reliability and high fuel efficiency. It is based on MAN’s ME-series engine and works according to the diesel principle.
The ME-LGI engine was developed by MAN after companies within the maritime shipping industry expressed interest in operating vessels on fuel oil alternatives to meet decarbonization targets.
“The adoption of methanol propulsion is gaining pace, behind which there are several drivers,” explained Bjarne Foldager, senior vice president and head of the two-stroke business at MAN Energy Solutions. “Crucially, MAN B&W methanol engines are available and proven, with the first engines having already entered service back in 2016.
“Additionally, as a fuel, methanol can be carbon-neutral when produced from renewable energy sources and biogenic CO2. The production capacity of such green methanol is currently increasing significantly; it is also liquid at ambient conditions, which simplifies tank design and minimizes costs. Finally, our methanol engine only requires a fuel-supply pressure of just 13 bar and a number of manufacturers already offer such fuel-supply systems today.”
“We currently have a total order book for 78 ME-LGIM engines, of which 24 are firm orders for G95 variants,” said Thomas Hansen, head of promotion and customer support at MAN Energy Solutions. “In addition, 19 of our 50-bore variants are already on the water and have accumulated more than 140,000 running hours on methanol alone. As a fuel, the future looks promising for methanol and we fully expect its uptake to encompass around 30% of all dual-fuel engine orders in just a few years from now.”
Red: LNG-fueled engines make up the vast majority of dual-fuel engine contracting
Dark blue: The uptake of methanol is increasing to around 30% of all dual-fuel engines contracted
Green: Ammonia is expected to gain interest as a marine fuel around 2030
