"Green" marine diesels ready for maiden tour
Svein Tønseth
Ulstein Bergen is ready to launch new technology that will reduce emissions from marine diesel engines.
Diesel engine manufacture at Ulstein Bergen.
The company already has laboratory versions of new engine technology equipment, which will reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) from vessels' propulsion machinery. When it is connected up to a diesel engine, this equipment alters the characteristics of the combustion process. This in turn affects the engine´s emissions - including NOx.
"The equipment reduces NOx emissions by around 30%, at the cost of a minimal increase in fuel consumption. So far, we have been able to document the technology by means of laboratory tests. The next step will be pilot installations on Norwegian coastal vessels," says Lars Magne Nerheim, R&D manager at Ulstein Bergen.
Trials in Trondheim and Bergen
The new engine technology equipment has been developed in the course of the "Low Emission Diesel Engines" R&D project, which is being led by MARINTEK in the SINTEF Group. Ulstein Bergen is putting both its own expertise and financial support into the project. "Low Emission Diesel Engines" is the biggest single project in the wide-ranging R & D programme "Green Ships" which is initiated by the Research Council of Norway, and in which the Norwegian maritime industry and the authorities are heavily involved." The equipment has been developed on the basis of engine trials that started in MARINTEK's laboratories, and which we have carried on in Bergen," says Nerheim.
International orders
Ulstein Bergen has gone in for developing this type of equipment with an eye to its auxiliary engines for large vessels. The company supplies these engines to shipyards all over the world."Today, when shipowners contract new vessels for international traffic, they want engines that also meet anticipated regulations for "special areas," coastal areas in which emission standards will be particularly high. As a supplier of auxiliary engines, we will need to be able to document that our technology is capable of satisfying such special regulations. That is why we have gone in for this type of equipment," says Nerheim.
Benefits already
"The knowhow we have gained via the "Low Emission Diesel Engines" project has already been incorporated in our current range of engines. Better fuel injection and combustion control have enabled us to increase engine output by 10% without any increase in NOx emissions," says Lars Magne Nerheim to Gemini.
Shipping company involvement
The Norwegian Shipowners' Association is heavily involved in the "Low Emission Diesel Engines" project. "We want the shipping industry to take as much responsibility for the environment as other branches of industry, and we believe that as a "great power" in shipping Norway has the potential to make a real contribution in this area," says Nils Telle, director of research at the Shipowners" Association."Norway is working for the implementation of international environmental regulations by the IMO, the UN's international shipping organization. The international shipping industry cannot live with different environmental regulations for each and every harbour. We accept that "special areas" with particular regulations are on their way, but these too ought to be handled by the IMO. If we are to gain acceptance for our wish for an international environmental regime, we will have to be able to back up our arguments with scientific documentation that shows that the necessary technology is available. The shipping world listens to what Norway says, so Norwegian research efforts such as the "Low Emission Diesel Engines" project are important for the Norwegian shipping industry," says Nils Telle.