Vale opts for methanol/ethanol-capable engines in Newcastlemax newbuilds

The first ethanol-capable X-DF-M/E engines have been ordered for two ore carriers to be built for Chinese owner Shandong Shipping Corporation. 

The vessels will operate under long-term charters for Brazil-headquartered global mining company Vale, with engine deliveries currently scheduled for early 2029, according to Swiss marine power company WinGD.

The two 325,000-dwt Newcastlemax vessels will be built by Beihai Shipbuilding in China, and will each be powered by a six-cylinder, 820mm-bore 6X82DF-M/E engine "intended to run primarily on ethanol fuel" and capable of burning methanol or diesel. The contract includes options for additional engine deliveries if the vessel series is extended.

WinGD said the engines will be the first of the X-DF-M/E platform "optimised for primarily ethanol use".

"The fuel supply and injection pressure will be modified from WinGD’s methanol-fuelled engine concept already in service to account for the difference in energy density between the two fuels, which otherwise share very similar properties and combustion characteristics," the firm said. 

WinGD said the ethanol-capable X-DF-M/E platform adds to fuel flexibility across Diesel-cycle two-stroke engines. X-DF-M/E, alongside the ammonia-fuelled X-DF-A and high-pressure LNG-fuelled X-DF-HP platforms, are all based on the same engine architecture and injection concept, the company said.

WinGD introduced its first high-pressure LNG dual-fuel engine, the X-DF-HP, at Marintec China in December 2025. The company said that engine is developed specifically for the ’demanding’ operating profiles of ultra-large container ships.

Brazilian mining giant Vale, which operates a fleet of ore carriers as part of its logistics supply chain, also struck a co-operation agreement with marine engine designer Everllence in February 2026 to develop ethanol as a marine fuel.

Under the terms of the deal, the parties will develop a two-stroke, slow-speed ethanol dual-fuel engine based on Everllence’s B&W ME-LGI technology.

The agreement follows progress made by Everllence in the second half of 2025 that saw the engine maker’s two-stroke and four-stroke engines run successfully on ethanol across load points. In September, its 90-bore, two-stroke ME-LGIM engine completed testing in Japan, and in December, a four-stroke 21/31 dual-fuel genset ran on the fuel at the company’s test facilities in Denmark.

Ethanol has been gaining interest among vessel owners in markets such as Brazil, one of the world’s largest producers of renewable ethanol. Brazil’s oil and gas major, Petrobras, has issued tenders for platform supply vessels that could use ethanol in dual-fuel engines in combination with batteries. Wärtsilä has reported significant progress on the development of ethanol-burning four-stroke engine technology. 

Biodegradable and water soluble, ethanol does not contain any sulphur and is liquid at ambient temperatures and pressures.

Of its methanol/ethanol-capable models, WinGD Executive Director Sales Volkmar Galke said: "These first ethanol-fuelled X-DF-M/E engines build on more than a decade of intensive investigation into alcohol fuels including ethanol and methanol."

Vale Director of Shipping Rodrigo Bermelho said: “The adoption of ethanol as an alternative fuel is part of Vale’s strategy to combine flexibility and efficiency in the ships that transport our ore.”