Fitted with VCR and iCER, WinGD’s X-DF units make compelling fuel savings and emissions reduction case
A majority of LNG newbuilds being ordered this year under the second phase of QatarEnergy’s historic shipbuilding programme will have WinGD second-generation low-pressure, two-stroke LNG dual-fuel engines, according to the Swiss engine designer.
Winterthur-based WinGD’s projection originates from confirmed initial engine and technical specifications for nearly half of the newbuilds in the second round of QatarEnergy’s ordering.
This follows its first-round orders to supply 50 X72DF2.1 dual-fuel engines for 25 LNG carriers being built at multiple shipyards.
For the second phase, QatarEnergy is believed to have increased the number of shipbuilding slots it has reserved at Samsung Heavy Industries, Hanwha Ocean (formerly Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering) and Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding shipyards. Several reports suggest the Qatari state energy company holds reservations for 40 shipbuilding slots.
The company signaled the start of its second round of newbuilding orders by signing a deal with South Korea’s HD Hyundai Heavy Industries in September 2023 for 17 LNG carriers for US$3.9Bn. Together with the more than 60 ships contracted in phase one, the agreement brought the estimated total number of confirmed LNG vessels set for delivery to QatarEnergy and its affiliates to around 80.
QatarEnergy’s LNG shipbuilding programme will expand its fleet to support increased LNG production capacity from the North Field Expansion (NFE) project in Qatar and Golden Pass LNG export projects in the US, as well as its long-term fleet replacement requirements.
“The X-DF engine has accumulated more than 6M running hours”
Some 49M tonnes per annum (mta) of new capacity is considered likely to come online during 2027 and 2028, increasing Qatar’s liquefaction volume by over 40%, from 77 mta to 126 mta, and requiring more than 90 LNG carriers holding an average of 170,000-m3 of cargo capacity to transport. In total, Qatar reserved 151 newbuilding slots across Asian shipyards to meet its upcoming cargo transport needs.
VCR technology
WinGD’s second-generation, Otto-cycle X-DF engines, known as WinGD X-DF 2.0, incorporate iCER (intelligent control by exhaust recycling) and Variable Compression Ratio (VCR) technology, to improve fuel consumption and lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
Jointly developed over more than a decade with Mitsui E&S DU (MESDU), VCR technology is a simple hydraulic solution mounted on the piston crosshead that allows the compression ratio to be adjusted, delivering GHG reductions of around 6% when operating on diesel and 3% when burning gas.
On-engine iCER technology, a compact combustion control solution delivering emissions and fuel efficiency improvements, was adopted by several LNG carriers in the first round, just months after the technology was introduced. This year, the on-engine technology — which cuts methane slip by 50% compared to the first-generation X-DF — has been available from the start of the ordering phase, and has already been selected for some vessels.
The X-DF engine has accumulated more than 6M running hours since the first engines were introduced in 2016. Of the 700 X-DF engines delivered and on order, nearly 500 power LNG carriers. WinGD also has a successful track record in adding value to its X-DF platform, with those numbers including nearly 240 X-DF2.0 engines on order and around 20 in service.
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