MAN showcases its ME-GA Engine

MAN Energy Solutions unveiled yesterday its latest low-speed, dual-fuel engine, a MAN B&W ME-GA type, at a ceremony live-streamed from its Copenhagen Research Centre.

The new engine is an Otto-cycle variant of the company’s ME-GI engine, designed for LNG/fuel-oil running.

The engine manufacturer said that the ME-GA engine is inherently Tier II and Tier III compliant in gas-operation mode. To fully utilise its dual-fuel potential in Tier III areas, the engine is being offered with Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR).

“We initiated this ME-GA project in late 2017 when we recognised a strong market desire for a lower-cost alternative to the ME-GI engine, driven primarily by the LNG carrier market. Crucially, this new supplement to our dual-fuel portfolio continues our mission to decarbonise shipping and further the maritime energy transition to sustainable fuels,” Wayne Jones OBE, Chief Sales Officer, MAN Energy Solutions, said.

MAN Energy Solutions aims to start testing the first, commercial ME-GA design by the end of this year, with the first engine delivery following in early 2022.

Bjarne Foldager, Senior Vice President and Head of Two-Stroke Business, expects the ME-GA to become standard among LNG carriers.

The company’s portfolio of two-stroke, dual-fuel engines has accumulated over 1.6 million operating hours from the 155 engines (6.3 GW) currently in service – all running on clean fuels such as LNG, LPG, ethane and methanol.

With fuel prices and availability currently in flux, MAN Energy Solutions expects the option of retrofitting to dual-fuel engines to increasingly become a necessity.