HD Hyundai Heavy claims HiMSEN ammonia engine breakthrough

Image: HD Hyundai Heavy Industries

One of the word’s largest manufacturers of marine engines, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, is adding a zero-carbon ammonia dual-fuel (DF) engine to its HiMSEN line of medium speed engines.

It is the world’s first ammonia engine to feature a high-pressure ammonia direct injection method.

Until now, ammonia engines have used a “low-pressure premixed combustion method” which burns a mixture of ammonia and air, which has been provided to the engine combustion chamber, through compression. The newly developed “high-pressure direct injection method” used in the HiMSEN engine compresses air in the engine combustion chamber and then injects ammonia at high pressure.

This approach offers benefits in terms of power output, fuel efficiency and GHG emissions mitigation. However, engine companies around the world have had difficulty in developing this method due to its high technological complexity.

While setting up an optimized fuel spraying time and period to maximize burning rate, says HD Hyundai Heavy, it also utilized a selective catalytic reduction (SCR) system to minimize the amount of nitrogen oxide and unburned ammonia. In addition, the Integrated Scrubber developed independently by HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, has been applied, resulting in a drastic reduction of ammonia emissions,

The engine, the “HiMSEN ammonia dual-fuel engine (model: H22CDF-LA)” has completed model-based class approval testing at HD Hyundai Heavy’s technology center.

The testing was attended by representatives from seven classification societies: ABS, DNV, LR , BV, RINA, ClassNK and KR.

With detailed examination and compliance review now finalized with the model-based class approval, HD Hyundai Heavy says that it will now soon start commercialization of the HiMSEN ammonia engine