Helios project in “final phase”
EU-funded initiative on gas-fuelled, two-stroke ship engines
A major international conference held in late-November in Copenhagen marked the final phase of the EU-funded Helios project. Helios is a co-operation research project within the EU´s seventh framework program for research and technical development/transportation. Engine and propulsion manufacturer MAN Diesel and Turbo acted as co-ordinating partner.
The general objective of the project is to develop a research platform for an electronically controlled, two-stroke, low-speed, marine diesel engine that operates on the principle of the direct injection of HP Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) to meet the needs of the emerging LNG market.
A large audience of 100 experts from around the world attended the conference to hear presentations on the gas-engine technologies garnered from Helios as well as on other factors influencing the development of gas-fuelled ship engines.
A broad range of activities were also initiated over the past three years under the Helios framework. A concrete result was the development of the new, gas-fuelled ME-GI engine, a dual-fuel unit that MAN Diesel and Turbo has since released to the market with success.
Following the development of the ME-GI engine, United States-based shipping company Matson ordered two units of the giant gas engines for two new container vessels. American TOTE and Canadian Teekay also signed ME-GI orders, with the first units scheduled to be complete in 2014.
Environmental benefits
The ME-GI engine complies with the IMO's Tier II requirements and, in combination with EGR (exhaust gas recirculation), its emissions are below Tier III limits.
The engines reduce NOx emissions by 24 per cent, CO2 emissions by 23 per cent, particulate matter by 85 per cent and feature a very low methane slip.
