Van Oord Installs Hydrogen-Methanol Clean Combustion System

Dutch dredging giant Van Oord is taking the next step in the energy transition with the adoption of a brand new technology. A patented solution to reduce both fuel consumption and harmful emissions of marine diesel-powered engines, Fuelsave FS MARINE+, will be used aboard the Van Oord rock installation vessel Bravenes.

By adopting this technology, carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrogen oxide (NOx), particulate matter (PM), and black carbon (BC) emissions from the vessel could be reduced substantially. Fuelsave says that its solution is the world’s first onboard hydrogen generator and injection solution with gas and liquid injection processes; it combines gas injection with water/methanol injection, among other enhancements.

“We are not treating a symptom but tackling the root of the problem by means of advanced combustion conditioning using hydrogen and methanol. The cleaner combustion provides additional potential greenhouse gas emission reduction, such as CO2 (approx. 8-15 percent), NOx (approx. 30-80 percent) and black carbon (approx. 33 percent)," said Fuelsave CEO Marc Sima in a statement. 

FS MARINE+ has been deployed on the world’s largest single row four-stroke engine and has been under development for five years. This will be the first time that the system will be deployed on MaK engines for a DP3 operation, according to Van Oord. 

"Van Oord is always looking for new technologies that contribute to the efficiency increase of our vessels and making them cleaner. We believe that this is a satisfactory and affordable short-term solution to support that goal, " said Job Voormolen, the company's manager for R&D and innovation.