SMM: Svanehøj develops new fuel pump for LNG-powered ships

With more ships being powered by LNG, Svanehøj has developed a fuel pump tailored to their needs, the CS pump.

With LNG dual fueled vessels now accounting for 38% of currently on order shipbuilding tonnage, Svanehøj Denmark has responded to the growing move to LNG fueling with the launch of a completely new pump design for LNG, the CS pump.

Svanehøj says that this makes it the first supplier on the marine market to offer both deepwell pumps and submerged pumps for electric fuel systems. The aim is to gain a larger share of the attractive and strongly growing LNG market.

Svanehøj’s new electric submerged pump design for LNG-powered ships is making its public debut this week at the SMM trade fair in Hamburg.

In recent years, Svanehøj has positioned itself strongly as a leading supplier of long-shaft deepwell pumps, where the motor and other electrical parts are located on deck. The new CS (cryonic submerged) pump is a submerged pump that is installed at the bottom of the tank.

“With the new CS pump for LNG, we are strengthening our position in a rapidly developing market. We will differentiate ourselves from our competitors by offering advice that is neutral in terms of technology selection. In this way, we want to ensure that the customer always gets the solution that best suits the specific project,” says Johnny Houmann, director of sales & projects at Svanehøj.

While LNG-fueled ships fitted with submerged fuel pumps have often been affected by clogging of the pumps due to impurities in the gas, in the design of the CS pump Svanehøj has solved this challenge by developing a special self-cleaning LNG filter that ensures optimal flow.

Additionally, Svanehøj has developed its own electric permanent magnet motor especially for the CS pump.

With the assistance of external specialists, the Svanehøj engineering team says it has succeeded in achieving a significantly higher degree of efficiency and lower energy consumption than with other motors on the market. In this way, Svanehøj meets the need for solutions that comply with the stricter requirements for ships’ emissions.

“Our ESG focus is about developing technical solutions for ships to support the transition to cleaner energy types. With the CS pump, we meet some technical challenges to ensure a higher efficiency of the pump and improve uptime during operation,” says Houmann.

• More information about the CS pump here