Compared to other fossil fuels, natural gas essentially offers two key advantages. On the one hand, gas is available in much larger quantities and will accordingly be around for longer as a source of energy. On the other, burning gas generates significantly fewer emissions than other fossil fuels. Dual-fuel engines running on gas, for instance, generate around 80 per cent fewer nitric oxides, virtually no sulphur emissions and around 95 per cent fewer particles in the exhaust gas than when they are run on diesel. The amount of environment-harming CO2 is reduced by more than 20 per cent.
In light of these advantages, we are further expanding our portfolio of gas and dual-fuel engines for power plant and marine applications. Dual-fuel engines from MAN Diesel & Turbo can, as the name suggests, be operated using liquid or gaseous fuels. They were initially used on liquified natural gas (LNG) tankers, where evaporating gas from the loading tanks can be used to drive the engine.
We anticipate increased demand for dual-fuel engines in the future. Energy experts predict an annual rise in international LNG trade of around seven per cent by 2020. Natural gas is being mined in ever more remote places that are either impossible to reach with pipelines or doing so would be very uneconomical. Often, the transport of liquid gas by sea is the solution.
Our dual-fuel engines, however, also offer tremendous advantages for shipping companies whose ships are often on the move in coastal emissions controlled areas (ECAs). The assemblies can be switched seamlessly from operation with liquid fuel to gas. The extremely eco-friendly natural gas is then used to transport the ships through the ECAs or to generate power in port, while the liquid fuel is used for voyages on the open ocean. The downside, of course, is that gas always has to be carried in separate tanks during the voyage.
The power plant sector also benefits from the high quality and flexibility of DF-engines. These engines will in future generate electricity on power ships. This type of engine is also used in the Australian Outback – Owen Springs is home to the first power plant to be operated exclusively with dual-fuel engines from MAN Diesel & Turbo.
The PGI gas engine is also an eco-friendly model. In 2008, we received the Innovation Prize from German Business in the major companies category for the development of this engine, which does not use spark plugs. The abbreviation PGI represents a completely new, high-energy ignition system. Already, the engine designed for use in power plants undercuts common environmental protection limits by around 50 per cent.