Marine design and engine developer ScandiNAOS AB, Chalmers University of Technology and the Swedish Maritime Administration(SMA) have launched a project to develop dual-fuel kits for conversion of new and existing diesel engines to methanol operation.
The methanol dual-fuel kit is unique since it will be generic and capable for retrofit to a large range of existing diesel engines of different brands. The kit will target engines up to 1000kW and will accelerate the transition to low emission fuel and sustainable operations for marine and industrial applications.
The project has a 24-month duration and a budget of SEK8,600,000 with 50% funding by the Swedish program for Strategic Vehicle Research and Innovation,(FFI). Leading methanol producer Proman AG and the Methanol Institute are providing industry funding.
The project will see ScandiNAOS develop and implement a dual fuel kit in a pilot boat owned and operated by the SMA. The SMA already operates a methanol-powered pilot boat equipped with a single fuel compression ignited methanol engine which completed successful trials in December 2021, a conversion supported by the FASTWATER consortium program.
The adoption of dual-fuel kits will enable conversion of more ships and boats more quickly, since a conversion kit can be cost-efficiently applied to existing engines while maintaining the fuel flexibility to run on either methanol, MGO or HVO.
The SMA has a target to remove fossil fuels from its fleet by 2045. Methanol as a fuel for combustion engines provides a number of opportunities for engine optimisation. Chalmers University of Technology has assigned a Postdoctoral research position for the duration of the project to develop and test advanced combustion strategies to be applied in the next generation of methanol single and dual fuel engines.
The pilot boat is expected to be ready for field trials in Q3 2023, a process which will go on for 9-12 months during which the dual-fuel kit will be tuned and optimised based on operational experience and from the results of the research and laboratory tests carried out by Chalmers University.