A milestone in the development of one of MAN’s flagship two-stroke engines targeted at the LNG carrier segment has been completed on board a newbuild Knutsen LNG carrier
MAN Energy Solutions’ first ME-GA engine has completed gas trials aboard an LNG carrier built by Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries for Norwegian shipping company, Knutsen OAS Shipping.
Built by HHI-EMD, the Knutsen ME-GA engine comes equipped with exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) that reduces methane-slip emissions compared with first-generation, Otto-cycle engines without EGR.
MAN Energy Solutions two-stroke business unit head Bjarne Foldager said, “This successful gas trial is a very important milestone in the development of the ME-GA engine. We developed this engine for easy application to most contemporary LNG carrier designs and, indeed, all ME-GA orders to date have been exclusively for this segment.”
MAN said it has taken more than 260 orders for the engine model since its launch in May 2021 and orders for the engines cover ship deliveries into 2027.
According to MAN, the EGR system installed on the ME-GA engines as standard enables the engines to reduce emissions and to improve fuel efficiency and operation in both gas and fuel-oil operational profiles.
Having begun development in 2018, the ME-GA engines have completed the factory acceptance test, type-approval test and first shipyard delivery. The latest milestone, completion of sea and gas trials "marks another significant step in its timeline as it approaches its commercial debut,” according to MAN ES.
In addition to the EGR system coming as standard with the engine package, MAN said it has added a new control element to its engine-control system called ME-GA-opti. ME-GA-opti consists of algorithms that control combustion within individual cylinders to improve efficiency.
“ME-GA-opti is the latest and most advanced control feature for the ME-GA engine and significantly improves its operation. It comprises an advanced and intelligent network of control algorithms that have been developed to optimise the combustion process on an individual-cylinder basis, and which ensure optimal operating conditions,” MAN ES Head of Promotion and Customer Support Thomas S Hansen said.
The MAN B&W ME-GA engine targets lower capex and is aimed at LNG carriers that are able to use boil-off gas as a source of fuel.
The ME-GA joins the ME-GI Diesel-cycle engine in MAN Energy Solutions’ two-stroke-engine portfolio, which now offers both low- and high-pressure, dual-fuel solutions for operation on LNG.
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