MAN ES launches new four-stroke ammonia engine R&D project

MAN Energy Solutions is following up on its successes in designing and testing the first two-stroke ammonia engine. It has announced the launch of a new four-stroke ammonia engine R&D project. Called
AmmoniaMot 2, it has been initiated by MAN with partners from industry and research institutes and is supported by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK). It began in August and is scheduled to run for 3½ years.

It is the successor to the AmmoniaMot project, which dealt with fundamental investigations on ammonia combustion in internal-combustion engines and ended in May this year.

Its promising results form the basis for the even more ambitious AmmoniaMot 2. Once again led by MAN Energy Solutions with the same partners from the original project, the new four-stroke ammonia engine R&D project will also bring in some new participants. These are: WTZ Roßlau GmbH, Woodward L’Orange GmbH, the University of Munich (SFM), Neptun Ship Design GmbH, the University of Rostock (LKV), GenSys GmbH and MNR GmbH.

“For MAN Energy Solutions, this project is the next logical step after the previous AmmoniaMot project,” said Alexander Knafl, head of engineering R&D, four-stroke, at MAN ES. “For MAN Energy Solutions, this project is the next logical step after the previous AmmoniaMot project. It perfectly supports our own strategy to develop sustainable technologies and we very much appreciate the opportunity to work with our distinguished partners. For us, the path to decarbonizing the maritime industry starts with decarbonizing fuels and, in this context, ammonia is an excellent candidate as it is carbon-free and thus avoids CO2-emissions when used as a fuel in our engines.”

MAN Energy Solutions sees the future application of four-stroke ammonia engines primarily in newbuild projects for non passenger carrying vessels, such as cargo or special vessels, or as an auxiliary genset for large ammonia-powered two-stroke vessels. For passenger ships such as ferries and cruise liners, MAN Energy Solutions is currently focusing on methanol as that segment’s fuel of the future and is already developing corresponding engines in parallel.

Christian Kunkel, head of combustion development, four-stroke R&D, MAN ES added: “In the original AmmoniaMot project, we laid a strong foundation with our excellent partners and proved that ammonia is a suitable fuel for medium-speed applications with the potential to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions by 90-95% while complying with existing emission regulations. I am more than excited to take the next step with our partners in AmmoniaMot 2. There is no doubt but that ammonia will become an important carbon-free fuel and thus not just contribute to the decarbonization of the maritime sector.”

PARTNER ROLES

MAN Energy Solutions is responsible for the entire engine concept for the ship application, including the exhaust-gas aftertreatment system;

• WTZ Roßlau will develop the combustion concept for the engine and test the injection components under realistic conditions;
• Woodward L’Orange will develop the injector prototype for the engine;
• The University of Munich (SFM) is responsible for the 3D-CFD combustion simulation;
• Neptun Ship Design will develop the demonstrator of the high-pressure fuel-supply module for ammonia (CAPSAM), taking into account the safety requirements aboard ships;
• The University of Rostock will conduct experiments for the injection technology, exhaust-gas aftertreatment concept, lubrication of ammonia engines and will develop 0D/1D simulation models on the basis of these experiments;
• GenSys will be responsible for the construction of the demonstrator of the high-pressure fuel-supply module for ammonia (CAPSAM);
• MNR will develop the double-walled fuel system and the compensator for the high-pressure fuel piping system for ammonia.