Deal targets retrofit upgrades for X-DF engines as emissions regulations loom

Swiss-headquartered engine designer WinGD has signed a deal with South Korea-headquartered maritime technology developer Panasia that will see Panasia offer upgrades to vessels using WinGD’s original X‑DF dual-fuel LNG engines.

WinGD said the partnership deal will initially focus on solutions that allow X‑DF engines already installed on vessels to deliver "the same fuel consumption, emissions and low methane slip as WinGD’s latest newbuild engines".

Retrofit options offered to existing X-DF engines include intelligent control by exhaust recycling (iCER) and variable compression ratio (VCR) technology.

"The frame agreement, signed during Kormarine 2025, will support ship operators in reducing their cost exposure to maritime carbon pricing, keeping existing vessels competitive for longer," WinGD said of the deal.

Panasia is an established marine technology developer in South Korea and has system integrator contracts with multiple Korean and Chinese shipyards.

WinGD head of retrofit & upgrade solutions René Baart said, “Korea has been the biggest market for X-DF engines since they were introduced in 2016. It was therefore natural that we start here as we aim to upgrade our installed base to the latest efficient technologies. We are delighted to have found a partner, in Panasia, with so much expertise in the equipment and system integration of both Chinese and Korean-built vessels.”

While iCER uses exhaust recycling to improve combustion stability when using LNG, VCR technology increases fuel efficiency by automatically optimising compression ratio depending on the fuel used and engine load. When combined, iCER and VCR technologies can reduce methane slip to around 0.7% of fuel gas volume, a more than two-fold reduction compared with first-generation X‑DF engines.

"Alongside significant fuel consumption reductions, improved methane slip dramatically reduces the cost of compliance with European and proposed IMO regulations," WinGD said.