(Helsinki/Finland) – The Finnish technology group Wärtsilä Oy has carried out initial tests in its engine test laboratory in Vaasa, Finland, to determine the optimal parameters for propulsion with hydrogen and ammonia. A test engine showed “very good performance” with a fuel with 70 percent ammonia in a load range typical for shipping. Another engine was successfully tested in pure hydrogen operation.
The tests would continue with the aim of finding “the most practical solutions based on internal combustion engines for power plant and ship applications”. Wärtsilä wants to develop an engine and system concept for pure hydrogen operation by 2025. The company expects to design an engine for shipping this year that runs on an ammonia mixture. The concept for driving with pure ammonia should be in place by 2023.
“Society will need to invest significant sums in the infrastructure required to develop green hydrogen,” says Håkan Agnevall, managing director of Wärtsilä, “but these investments require market-ready engines that can run on the fuel as soon as it becomes available “The energy and shipping industries are “on a decarbonization journey.” The flexibility of the engines for these areas is “the key to enabling the transformation”.
Wärtsilä is also developing ammonia storage and supply systems as part of the EU “ShipFC” project. The company says it has already gained experience with ammonia through the development of handling systems for liquid gas tankers, many of which are used to transport ammonia. In addition, Wärtsilä, together with customers Knutsen OAS, Repsol Norway and Equinor, will begin testing ammonia in a marine four-stroke internal combustion engine as part of the “Demo 2000” project at the Sustainable Energy Catapult Center in Stord, Norway. This project was launched in June 2020 and is funded by the state body Research Council of Norway with 20 million crowns (1,9 million euros).
The company's engines can currently run on natural gas, biogas, synthetic methane or mixtures containing up to 25 percent hydrogen.
Photos
The Wärtsilä engine laboratory team in Vaasa carries out tests to determine the optimal engine parameters for operation on hydrogen and ammonia fuels. © Wärtsilä Corporation
