Marine engine designer and power system integrator WinGD and engine builder Hyundai Heavy Industries’ Engine Machinery Division (HHI-EMD) will strengthen their collaboration by partnering to develop environmentally sustainable two-stroke engine technology.

Under a joint development agreement signed at the Kormarine 2021 exhibition in Busan last month, the two companies will together develop engine solutions that further reduce greenhouse gas emissions from methane while improving both the engine’s efficiency and footprint for reduced costs.

The cooperation will aim to further enhance WinGD’s dual-fuel, low-pressure X-DF engines. Key goals are to further reduce greenhouse gas emissions and toxic air pollutants such as NO_x, cut fuel consumption and minimize the engine footprint through an integrated design optimized for both newbuilds and retrofits.

As a first step, HHI-EMD and WinGD will perform prototype testing of a compact, on-engine energy saving & emission reduction technology in 2022.

X-DF2.0. Seeking continuous improvement of X-DF technology through reductions to both fuel consumption and methane slip in gas mode, WinGD launched the X-DF2.0 technology platform with the introduction in June 2020 of iCER—Intelligent Control by Exhaust Recycling—as the first X-DF2.0 development.

As shipowners factor greenhouse gas reduction targets into their upcoming newbuild projects, X-DF2.0 technologies will enable improved engine performance with both LNG and future carbon-neutral fuels. The iCER system delivers enhanced combustion control through the use of inert gas and offers:

• 3% energy consumption reduction in gas mode
• Up to 5g/kWh fuel consumption reduction in diesel mode
• Up to 50% reduction of methane slip

The X82DF-2.0 fulfils Tier III emission requirements without any external exhaust gas after treatment system when operating in gas mode.

The iCER is designed to cool and recirculate part of the exhaust gas through a low-pressure path during operation in gas mode. Compared to a high-pressure path, the main benefit is the ability to use the full turbocharger capacity. It is possible to recirculate exhaust gas up to a maximum rate of 50% mass flow. This is handled through a system adjacent to the engine that circulates part of the exhaust gas after the turbine through a Cascade Exhaust gas Cooler (CEC) to the compressor inlet. The exhaust gas and the fresh air are mixed before entering the compressor wheel of the turbocharger.

Like all future X-DF2.0 technologies, iCER will be available for all new X-DF engines. As well as using fossil LNG, X-DF engines can also burn carbon-neutral synthetic or bio-derived LNG when it becomes available. By continuing to develop combustion control and engine efficiency, WinGD is improving the performance of its engines using these fuels and minimizing fuel cost for ship owners and operators.