HANSA 06-2019

Schiffstechnik | Ship Technology
»Zero-emissions propulsion
is tantalisingly close«
Regulatory pressure is pushing large combustion
engine makers to clean up their act. Paolo Tonon,
Vice President Communication at the
International Council on Combustion Engines
(CIMAC), sees this as a challenge and
incentive rather than a reason to worry
© CIMAC
CIMAC has recently been making a
strong case for the Power-to-X concept
and cross industry cooperation needed
to make it become a reality. That’s the future
– what’s moving the industry right
now?
Paolo Tonon: A great deal of discussion
centres around the Sulphur Cap
2020 and the overall effect of the shifting
focus in engine emissions emphasis
on Greenhouse Gases (GHG). As a result,
the large engine industry is working
simultaneously on the full spectrum
of engine emissions. However, it must be
said that because of the correlation between
carbon dioxide (CO2) to fuel consumption,
GHG reduction is essentially
an increased focus on a perennial concern
of every single engine developer and
operator.
What will be discussed at this year’s CI-
MAC World Congress – besides Power-to-X
and cross-sector cooperation?
Tonon: CIMAC acted presciently when
it founded the new working group System
Integration. We think a lot of the discussion
will centre around not only on
the necessary interactions among systems
onboard ships but among all the
engine industry stakeholders: propulsion
system builders, ship designers, and
ship operators. Because one thing is certain
– the CO2 targets set for 2050 will
not be met by engine development alone.
In the past, engines were singled out as
the only source of emissions on a ship,
even though inefficiencies elsewhere were
also having a negative impact on emissions.
Now the approach is a more holistic
one, with other factors being considered,
i.e. the overall efficiency of the system we
call a ship.
In a time of huge industry change,
CIMAC aims to close the gap between
ship-owners, ship-operators, and the
shipping industry. This is reflected in an
increased space given to end-users round
tables.
At the moment, zero emission operation
still seems to be far away. What are the
concrete measures and development areas
right now?
Tonon: There is still immense potential
in the traditional areas of engine development
– fuel injection, turbocharging and
engine control. Fuel injection pressures
which continue to rise is helping to increase
engine efficiency of both two- and
four-stroke engines as well as with the advancement
of the two-stage turbocharging
on four-stroke only beginning to be
leveraged.
In terms of control, electronics continue
to become more sophisticated. The
initial results of variable valve timing
on large four-strokes engines are showing
great potential in terms of improved
overall control and making the engines
far more flexible and economical.
On the two-stroke side, there are innovative
turbocharging and control systems,
such as the first sequential turbochargers
on two-strokes. New flexible exhaust
valve timing and advanced turbochargers
allow ships to switch from slow steaming
to commercial cruising speeds easily and
without any major modifications. This allows
ship operators to closely match their
power to their actual load profile.
What could be effective short term solutions
in the fight against green house
gases?
Tonon: A great hope for reducing both
GHG and noxious emissions in the short
term is gas- and dual-fuel engines. Since
the last Congress two-stroke dual-fuel engines
with both high- and low-pressure
gas injection have proliferated while fourstroke
dual-fuel engines are establishing
themselves in all types of vessel, not only
LNG carriers.
This change is driven by IMO Tier III
NO x limits and the Sulphur Cap 2020.
52 HANSA International Maritime Journal 06 | 2019