WinGD and HSD Engine collaborate on methanol two-stroke engine delivery by 2024

Swiss engine designer WinGD and Korean engine builder HSD Engine have partnered to jointly advance the development of WinGD’s methanol-fueled big-bore engines.

The joint development project will focus on some of the largest engines in the WinGD portfolio, the X92 and X82. WinGD said these engines will be suitable for the larger and ultra-large containerships in which the company sees rapidly growing interest in green methanol, while demand is also growing, albeit at a slower pace, in the bulk carrier and tanker segments.

With the aim of delivering an engine capable of running on carbon-neutral green methanol by 2024, WinGD will oversee combustion and injection research, exhaust after-treatment requirements, and engine concept design. HSD Engine, for its part, will provide support on cost-effective manufacturing and assembly, provide engine testing capabilities and deliver fuel supply and exhaust after-treatment systems.

“With new fuels, new materials are needed and manufacturers’ involvement in design is critical to ensure that engines can be produced at reasonable costs and in a reasonable timeframe. HSD is well-known as a high-class engine builder that will be able to support WinGD in delivering the methanol-fueled two-stroke engines that our customers will be seeking for their vessels in the near future,” remarked Dominik Schneiter, vice president of research and development at WinGD.

The project is the latest partnership with engine builders aimed at accelerating the development of WinGD engines capable of running on new fuels. Schneiter explained that multiple collaborations are essential to meet the expectations of all shipbuilding markets and to jointly develop engine builders’ capabilities in testing and designing new fuels.

WinGD is also working with Hyundai Heavy Industries’ Engine Machinery Division (EMD) on delivering the first WinGD engine capable of running on ammonia by 2025.