Swiss marine power company WinGD is planning to deliver its first X-DF-A dual-fuel ammonia engines by 2025.
WinGD has confirmed that it signed an agreement last month with two ship owners, AET Tankers and sister company Akademi Laut Malaysia, to develop crew training on ammonia engines. In January 2023 it also announced a partnership with CMB.Tech, a sister company of Belgian shipowner CMB, to develop ammonia-fuelled engines for ten 210,000 DWT bulk carriers.
The new developments from the company are the result of collaborations with engine and ship builders in China, Japan and Korea, as well as the WinGD’s own research programs. Most recently, in June WinGD signed a memorandum of understanding with Mitsubishi Shipbuilding Co. Ltd to prepare X-DF-A for application across a range of vessel sizes and for integration with the engine builder’s ammonia fuel supply system.
A new validation platform housed in its Engine Research & Innovation Centre (ERIC) in Winterthur, the Spray Combustion Chamber (SCC) has enabled them to develop 2-stroke combustion concepts.
Testing on a purpose-built single-cylinder engine will commence, in collaboration with China Shipbuilding Power Engineering Institute Co. Ltd (CSPI), at ERIC Winterthur, and a multi-cylinder test engine at WinGD’s Global Test Centre in Shanghai.
WinGD CEO Dominik Schneiter said: “For the industry to be truly ready for alternative fuels, the engine concepts that use them – and the vessel designs, auxiliary systems, crew training and field support network – need to be ready before the fuels become widely available. Our development timeframe, as evidenced by these milestones in research and collaboration, shows that we are on track to give shipowners and operators the time they need to prepare for decarbonised ship power using ammonia as fuel.”
