MAN showcases methanol-ready engine from testbed, says it can keep vessels compliant until 2050

German engine manufacturing powerhouse MAN Energy Solutions demonstrated today the performance of its new dual-fuel four-stroke 49/60DF engine from the testbed in Augsburg, Germany.

The engine, which made its debut earlier this year at the SMM Hamburg trade fair, is capable of running on LNG, diesel, and HFO as well as biofuel blends and synthetic natural gas.

The virtual testbed demonstration included fourteen modes of operations of the engine and went very smoothly, showing gas fuel consumption at 85% load, gas mode operation at 110% load as well as changeovers from gas to diesel and vice versa while maintaining stable output and RPM inter alia.

Commenting on the demonstration, Stefan Terbeck, Principal Project Manager, R&D Projects Four-Stroke, said the engine showed ‘outstanding fuel consumption in gas and diesel’ modes as well as ‘superb engine dynamic capability in gas and diesel mode‘.

The company expects to invite classification societies to the testbed facility in March next year for a type approval test ceremony for the engine.

Based on the information presented today, MAN claims that its 49/60 DF engine offers a feasible decarbonization pathway to 2050.

In line with the rules of the Fuel EU draft, when in gas mode the engine can remain compliant as is by using LNG until 2035, while from then until 2050 it can remain compliant by switching to partial use of bio or synthetic LNG.

In diesel mode, the engine can meet the 6pct CO2 equivalent (gr/MJ) reduction target by using a biodiesel blend of 11 pct and move toward the 76 pct CO2 eq reduction objective for 2050 by switching to biodiesel blend of up to 50 pct.

The 49/60DF features two-stage turbocharging, second-generation common-rail fuel injection, SaCoS5000 automation system and Adaptive Combustion Control ACC 2.0 that automatically sets combustion to optimum levels. The engine also includes the gas-injection system, pilot-fuel-oil system and MAN SCR (Selective Catalytic Reduction) system.

MAN said that 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 German engine maker, the engine has best-in-class fuel consumption as it can save up to 6% in fuel cost when compared to its competitors and is fit for the digital age.

As explained by Thomas Huchatz, Sales Manager Marine Four-Stroke, the engine achieved a heavy methane emissions cut of 50% when compared to the company’s 51/60DF engine. The engine includes closed crankcase ventilation which prevents venting out of the methane into the atmosphere by reintroducing it to the turbocharger to be burnt again.

In the short term, MAN also plans to introduce skip-firing technology to reduce methane emissions further at low loads. The technology provides for a more favorable operating point under low loads. In the long term, the plan is to launch a methane catalyst and a field test of this technology is upcoming in the next year, Huchatz said.

“We have a clear intention for the methane catalyst to be retrofittable,” he pointed out.

MAN Energy Solutions 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 depending on the demand prospects.

The company has already launched efforts to develop the retrofit package for methanol and the plans are to bring the technology to the market by the end of this decade, according to Huchatz.

He also revealed that the technology that would be used for methanol as fuel has the potential to also be used for ammonia or even hydrogen depending on the market demands.

MAN Energy Solutions announced last year that its gas-powered engines can be ordered with an H2-ready feature capable of operation with a hydrogen content of up to 25 percent by volume within the natural gas. Specifically, MAN 35/44G TS, 51/60G and 51/60G TS gas engines are now designated as H2-ready.

The company is also doing research and development on 100 percent hydrogen combustion technology. 

According to MAN, the 49/60 DF engine is expected to replace 51/60DF engine in the medium-term, and become the company’s new flagship engine.

MAN 49/60 DF is already available for new building vessels set to be ordered as of early next year with planned deliveries around 2025. It will be produced in Augsburg with 65 pct of its components planned to be sourced in Germany.