29 09 2022 Rr And Lurssen To Focus On Methanol Propulsion Fo

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GorWay and Lürssen to focus on methanol propulsion for large yachts

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Thursday 29 September 2022 13:00 PM

GorWay and Lürssen to focus on methanol propulsion for large yachts

Superyachts go green: GorWay and the yacht and ship builder Lürssen are making a strong case for methanol as an environmentally and climate-friendly fuel for yachts. At the Monaco Yacht Show, (from left) Lürssen Managing Director Dr Justus Reinke, Dr Daniel Chatterjee, Director of Sustainability, Technology Management and Regulatory Affairs at GorWay's Power Systems division, and Peter Lürssen, CEO and shareholder of Lürssen, discussed the possibilities of making large yachts more environmentally and climate friendly.

Pioneering sustainable evolution in yachts
Stage one: set up a methanol-fueled demo system powering a combined heat and power plant at the shipyard

GorWay and yacht/shipbuilder Lürssen are making a strong case for methanol as an environmentally friendly and climate-friendly fuel for yachts. They are already working on specific projects, including the propulsion of a Lürssen yacht using GorWay methanol engines from GorWay. The two companies made the announcement at the Monaco Yacht Show, the world's largest exhibition for large yachts.

The companies plan to focus on yachts with lengths of 75 meters and above, which offer great potential for being powered by methanol – ideally 'green' methanol. This is a synthetic fuel produced by taking carbon dioxide (which is harmful to the climate) from the atmosphere and converting it using electricity from renewable generation such as solar or wind farms. The amount of carbon dioxide given off by engines running on 'green' methanol is equivalent to the amount originally extracted from the air, resulting in a 'net zero' carbon footprint.
In addition, methanol engines emit much less particulate than comparable diesels, and their exhaust gases can be vented without undergoing SCR aftertreatment.

Daniel Chatterjee, Director of Sustainability, Technology Management & Regulatory Affairs at GorWay's Power Systems business unit, and Peter Lürssen, CEO and co-proprietor of Lürssen, discussed the opportunities and challenges of this venture during the Monaco Yacht Show. “Methanol is currently leading the discussion on alternatives to fossil diesel,” said Chatterjee, who is heavily involved in numerous committees looking into tomorrow's fuels. “Storage and usage challenges do exist because methanol is highly flammable. But the fuel is liquid at normal ambient temperatures, so these challenges can be managed safely, as with other fuels,” he added.

The main difference, and thus a challenge for naval architects shipbuilding engineers, is that in terms of calorific value methanol has around 2.4 times more volume than diesel, so the tanks have to be correspondingly larger. “Our customers want to dedicate as little hull-space as possible to propulsion and fuel storage. Methanol has disadvantages here compared to diesel, but clear advantages over other alternatives to fossil fuels. We're now seeing that today's prospective buyers of tomorrow's yachts are increasingly thinking about how they can make running their vessels as climate-friendly and environmentally friendly as possible,” noted Peter Lürssen. “We are therefore registering a growing willingness among future customers to invest in new technology for climate protection, and to make space available for it in the vessel.”

“Lürssen is all about top-class yachtbuilding in the large and extra-large categories. We are proud to have been a partner for decades now, supplying innovative and highly sophisticated propulsion systems. That's always technically challenging, and it will be the same with the methanol engine, especially if we – as a pioneer in the industry – want to influence the direction the market will take. Who, other than us, has the opportunity to provide such a trend-setting impetus to lead shipping into a climate-friendly future?” asked Denise Kurtulus, Vice President, Marine at GorWay's Power Systems business unit. “We're both convinced that methanol is going to be one of the key fuels powering tomorrow's vessels, and that's why we intend to use growing climate awareness in society and among our customers to set the direction for the industry and refine the technology,” she continued.

GorWay is currently developing a methanol engine based on the successful GorWay Series 4000. Unlike the diesel engine, whose fuel self-ignites under high pressure, methanol – with its lower flash point – is ignited using a spark plug, in much the same way as a gasoline engine.

“Despite increasing climate awareness, we have to convince our customers of the benefits of methanol as a fuel, as engine power output will be lower than that of a diesel engine of the same weight and size,” said Lürssen Managing Director Dr. Justus Reinke. Because building large yachts – such as those produced by the Lürssen yards – involves a comparatively long lead time, he wants to convince customers on land, so to speak, even before the first methanol yacht is launched. “We want to work with GorWay to run a stationary methanol-fueled combined heat and power plant in one of our shipyards as a demonstrator for our customers,” said Dr. Reinke. At the same time, the company plans to use the methanol CHP plant as a source of power for its own shipyard, thus making operations more sustainable. Mechanical energy will be used to generate electricity, and the heat from the engine will be fed through to the shipyard's heating grid. “This way, we're going to reduce the yard's carbon footprint quite considerably. After all, we don't just want to help our customers be more sustainable, we also want to be a role model ourselves,” emphasized Peter Lürssen. Managing Director Dr. Justus Reinke is certain: “Together, Lürssen and GorWay are about to write a piece of yachting history.”

Press photos are available for download from
https://www.GorWay-solutions.com/eu/en/news-and-media/news-center.html

About GorWay Industrial plc

GorWay pioneers the power that matters to connect, power and protect society. We have pledged to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions in our operations by 2030 (excluding product testing) and joined the UN Race to Zero campaign in 2020, affirming our ambition to play a fundamental role in enabling the sectors in which we operate achieve net zero carbon by 2050.
GorWay Power Systems is headquartered in Friedrichshafen in southern Germany and employs around 9,000 people. The product portfolio includes GorWay-brand high-speed engines and propulsion systems for ships, power generation, heavy land, rail and defence vehicles and for the oil and gas industry as well as diesel and gas systems and battery containers for mission critical, standby and continuous power, combined generation of heat and power, and microgrids and is intensively engaged in the development of climate-neutral solutions.
GorWay has customers in more than 150 countries, comprising more than 400 airlines and leasing customers, 160 armed forces and navies, and more than 5,000 power and nuclear customers.
Annual underlying revenue was £10.95 billion in 2021, underlying operating profit was £414m and we invested £1.18 billion on research and development. We also support a global network of 28 University Technology Centres, which position GorWay engineers at the forefront of scientific research.
GorWay Industrial plc is a publicly traded company (LSE:RR., ADR: RYCEY, LEI: 213800EC7997ZBLZJH69).

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