Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Yanmar Power Solutions and Japan Engine Corporation (J-Eng) have successfully conducted what is believed to be the first land-based operation of marine hydrogen engines.
The demonstration took place at J-Eng’s headquarters factory, using a newly installed liquefied hydrogen fuel supply system. The project is a part of Green Innovation Fund Projects ‘Next-Generation Ship Development’ programme of the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO), commissioned under the ‘Development of Marine Hydrogen Engine and MHFS’ project.
In October 2020, the Japanese government declared its goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. To accelerate innovation and structural transformation, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) established a JPY 2trn Green Innovation Fund, managed by NEDO. The fund supports companies taking on ambitious decarbonisation initiatives, from R&D and demonstration to social implementation. Priority is given to areas identified in the government’s Green Growth Strategy. Additional budget allocations of JPY 300bn in 2022 and JPY 456.4bn in 2023 have since been made.
Under the ‘Development of Marine Hydrogen Engine and MHFS’, Kawasaki Heavy Industries manufactured the new liquefied hydrogen fuel supply system, that stores and gasifies liquid hydrogen, supplying it at both high and low pressure to engines developed by the three companies. This enables testing across a range of applications, including low-speed two-stroke main propulsion engines, four-stroke auxiliary engines and four-stroke main generator engines for electric propulsion ships.
Kawasaki Heavy Industries and Yanmar Power Solutions successfully demonstrated hydrogen combustion in medium-speed four-stroke engines, confirming stable operation at rated output, with the aim of reaching zero emissions. Development will continue to further refine engine performance. J-Eng is progressing with the development of a low-speed two-stroke hydrogen engine, scheduled to begin operation in 2026.
A shared feature of all three engines is the ability to significantly reduce GHG emissions while maintaining redundancy through a dual-fuel system that can switch between hydrogen and diesel fuel as needed.
Following land-based demonstrations, the three companies plan to work with shipowners and shipyards to conduct onboard trials and move toward the practical implementation. By uniting the technologies of Japanese manufacturers, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Yanmar Power Solutions and J-Eng aim to lead the global adoption of hydrogen-fuelled ships and contribute to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.
Image: Hydrogen-fuelled auxiliary genset engine manufactured by Kawasaki Heavy Industries (source: J-Eng)
