Swiss marine power company WinGD’s first methanol-fueled engine is to be delivered to the shipyard after passing factory and type approval tests. The ten-cylinder, 92‑bore X-DF-M engine is destined for a 16,000 TEU container ship and is the biggest methanol-fueled engine built to date.

There are 56 X-DF-M engines on order across bore sizes ranging from 52 to 92, in similar cylinder configurations and engine rating fields as diesel-fueled X-Engines. The addition of methanol capability to WinGD’s engine line-up further extends the decarbonization options available to deep-sea ship operators, which include the long-established X-DF LNG-fueled engine platform and a new ammonia-fuelled X-DF-A platform.

The first X-DF-M engine will be installed on the fourth vessel of a new series. The previous three engines were fitted with 10X92-B engines which will be converted to 10X92DF-M engines once the first, newbuild methanol engine is commissioned. Dual-fuel methanol conversion packages will be available for all WinGD single-fuel and dual-fuel engines.

Methanol, like LNG, can be produced with low carbon emissions by using either biomass or renewable energy with captured carbon. The evolution of these fuel pathways—with similar routes towards green ammonia and e-diesel—will be needed for shipping’s energy transition, as will the engine technology to use emerging low- and zero-carbon fuels.