Bergen Engines making strides toward 100% hydrogen-fueled engine

Norway-based medium-speed engine maker Bergen Engines has revealed that the entire range of natural gas engines can now accommodate a 25% hydrogen blend at full load, marking the company’s significant step toward advancing cleaner energy technologies for land and marine applications.

Bergen Engines’ new 25% volume blend of hydrogen offering builds on the commercialization of a 15% volume blend of hydrogen blend in 2022.

According to the company, hydrogen offers several key benefits when blended with natural gas in medium-speed engines, including reduced emissions, enhanced efficiency, fuel flexibility, and sustainable transition.

Jon Erik Røv, Managing Director of Bergen Engines, commented: “Our commitment to innovation and sustainability drives us to continually improve our engine technologies. The ready-to-sell offering of a 25vol% blended hydrogen engine is a testament to our dedication to providing cleaner and more efficient energy solutions. We are proud to offer our customers engines that not only meet their performance needs but contribute to a greener future for our industry.”

As for the next step, the Norwegian engine maker is working toward the development of a 100% hydrogen-fueled engine by the end of this year, and is on track to reach this goal.

“This ambitious goal drives us to continually test higher volumes of hydrogen, enhancing our engines’ efficiency and stability at increased hydrogen percentages,” said Therese Aalhus, Head of Engineering.

“Our mission is to offer greener alternatives without sacrificing the efficiency and power generation that the industry demands. I’m incredibly proud of our team and impressed with our work so far to maintain stability as we reach higher volumes of hydrogen.”

Bergen Engines also claims to be the first medium-speed engine producer in the world to successfully test a 30% volume blend of hydrogen at 100% load, thus setting the stage for the upcoming 100% hydrogen-fueled engine. Field testing was completed in 2023 in Caseda, Spain, in collaboration with Viscofan. 

In addition to hydrogen, the company continues its research to assess the feasibility of utilizing ammonia as a primary fuel source to further expand its green solutions portfolio for land and marine-based applications.

In line with its commitment to exploring alternative fuels, Bergen Engines also joined FME MarTrans, an industry collaboration that aims to reduce emissions from shipping and increase value creation for the Norwegian maritime sector, related to the reduction of energy consumption and the use of alternative fuels.

The company’s commitment to sustainable solutions and exploration of alternative marine fuels was recently reinforced with an approval from classification society DNV for its methanol-ready statement for marine engines.