Evaluation and investigation of multi-fuel retrofit solutions for the climate-neutral fuels e-methanol and ammonia for operation in large maritime engines - CliNeR-ECo
In the CliNeR-ECo project, a research consortium consisting of MAN Energy Solutions, TU-Darmstadt and WTZ Roßlau gGmbH is working together on the development of retrofit solutions for medium-speed marine engines. The three-year research project is being funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection (BMWK) with around five million euros and initial project work started in January 2023.
The aim of CliNeR-ECo is to develop and test retrofit concepts for various existing medium-speed marine engines that are suitable for retrofitting entire fleets of ships at a reasonable economic and technical cost. The focus here is on the climate-neutral fuel methanol, which is produced from green hydrogen. With these maritime retrofit technologies, ship owners are to be offered solutions in the future to enable their existing fleets to comply with the future emission targets for greenhouse gases set by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the EU in increasingly stringent stages from 2025, in order to ultimately achieve climate-neutral maritime shipping.
In the sub-project of WTZ Roßlau gGmbH, combustion processes for the development of methanol retrofit concepts are being investigated in close cooperation with MAN Energie Solutions. The aim is to reduce CO2 emissions in maritime shipping in the near future and to derive a roadmap for introducing the technology to the market. In this context, basic technology components, such as ignition behavior, ignition strategies and mixture composition, are evaluated and it is subsequently determined how these concepts can also be transferred to other fuels, such as ammonia or natural gas.