WinGD hopes its X-DF engines will power the majority of QatarEnergy phase two LNG carriers

Swiss marine power company WinGD, part of CSSC Group, is expecting to secure the majority of dual-fuel engine orders for LNG carriers being built in the second phase of QatarEnergy’s newbuilding project.

With initial engine and technical specifications confirmed for nearly half of the orders in the second round, WinGD’s X-DF 2.0 engines are already the preferred choice to be installed on most vessels, the company said.

Initial decisions on the remaining vessels will be made shortly by QatarEnergy, which will operate the gas carriers under long-term charters.

The early support for WinGD’s latest X-DF technologies follows strong orders in the initial phase of newbuilding last year when shipowners chartering to QatarEnergy ordered 25 vessels powered by the low-pressure, dual-fuel two-stroke engines.

Based on initial decisions, that number will be exceeded in the second phase.

“QatarEnergy, shipyards and owners were clear in their endorsement of X-DF in the last round of the project. We are confident that our latest efficiency technologies allow us to build on that success in the current round. Alongside our well-established engine platform, these technologies have provided a further point of difference for WinGD’s offering, increasing the lead over other engine concepts,” Volkmar Galke, WinGD Director Sales, said.

Among the new improvements to X-DF, last June WinGD introduced Variable Compression Ratio (VCR) technology, a simple hydraulic solution that optimises engine compression ratio – hence efficiency and emissions – dependent on the fuel used and engine load. When added to X-DF engines, VCR provides fuel and emissions savings in both gas and diesel modes, supporting operators’ ability to select the most economically attractive fuel.

On-engine iCER technology, a compact combustion control solution delivering emissions and fuel efficiency improvements, was adopted by several LNG carriers in the first round, just months after the technology was introduced.

This year, the on-engine configuration has been available from the start of the ordering phase and has already been selected for some vessels.

WinGD’s X-DF engine is the longest-established low-pressure dual-fuel two-stroke engine, with more than six million running hours accumulated since the first engines were introduced in 2016. Of the 700 X-DF engines delivered and on order, nearly 500 power LNG carriers. WinGD also claims to have a successful track record in adding value to its X-DF platform, with those numbers including nearly 240 X-DF2.0 engines on order and around 20 in service.

Recent internal evaluations by WinGD highlight the system-wide energy consumption and emissions benefits of deploying X-DF technology. On a 174,000 cbm LNG carrier on a typical operating profile, a configuration including two 5X72DF-2.2 engines with VCR outperformed other low-pressure and high-pressure engine arrangements in terms of LNG consumption, air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, electrical power demand for auxiliary machinery and fuel costs, according to the company.

In related news, QatarEnergy sealed earlier this month a contract with Chinese shipbuilder CSSC Hudong Zhonghua shipbuilding for the construction of eight Q-Max ultra-large LNG carriers, according to broker reports.

Valued at over $2.4 billion, these cutting-edge vessels, part of QatarEnergy’s “Hundred Ships Program,” are set to be delivered between 2028 and 2029.