Wärtsilä has introduced a new ultra-low emissions version of its Wärtsilä 31DF engine, set to further reduce methane emissions by 41 percent compared to the standard engine.
According to a statement, the new version will further reduce methane emissions by up to 56 percent when operating at a 50 percent load point and nitrogen oxide (NOx) by up to 86 percent.
This is compared to the standard Wärtsilä 31DF engine, which already had the lowest emission levels on the market.
The updated version was tested on one of the four engines onboard Wasaline’s Aurora Botnia, helping to reduce methane emissions by 10 percent.
As part of the EU co-funded Green Ray and SeaTech projects, the results achieved onboard the Aurora Botnia were verified through an independent study conducted in December 2022 by VTT, the Technical Research Centre of Finland. The new Wärtsilä 31DF engine is now available to the commercial market.
Stefan Nysjö, vice president of power supply at Wärtsilä Marine Power, said: “Our work around reducing methane slip and GHG emissions is part of Wärtsilä’s effort to continuously improve efficiency and reduce emissions of our products, and this new innovation is one more very important step along the road to decarbonization.
“The building of an LNG fuel infrastructure has been an important factor in shipping’s transition towards cleaner operations, and Wärtsilä continues to create solutions that support this journey. Our focus has always been to improve and optimize existing solutions and to develop exciting new ones. With this latest introduction, we are clearly delivering on this commitment.”
Peter Ståhlberg, managing director of Wasaline, added: “We are very committed to decarbonization, and we have worked closely with Wärtsilä to make sustainable shipping a reality. It is a goal-oriented partnership that benefits both companies, as well as the industry as a whole. We have been pleased to allow the ‘Aurora Botnia’ to be utilized as a floating laboratory, and we are excited to see the success of this latest Wärtsilä technology breakthrough.”
