Rolls-Royce Secures Methanol-Ready Certification for MTU Marine Engines

[By Rolls-Royce]

Rolls-Royce has received the Methanol Readiness Certificate from the international classification society DNV for its current mtu Series 4000 engines. With this, DNV confirms the technological concept that will enable newly built Rolls-Royce marine propulsion systems to be retrofitted for dual-fuel operation with methanol in future.

“The uncertain future of CO? legislation is driving a growing desire among many ship operators for greater flexibility in terms of propulsion and fuel. With the methanol-ready certificate, we are giving our customers the assurance that they will be able to operate their ships on methanol in future, as soon as the fuel is sufficiently available,” said Lukas Köhler, Senior Vice President Global Marine & Mining at Rolls-Royce Power Systems.

Back in 2025, Rolls-Royce had already successfully tested the world’s first high-speed marine engine powered exclusively by methanol on the test bench in Friedrichshafen in Germany. Since then, Rolls-Royce has completed and analysed more than 5,000 operating hours using methanol in single- and dual-fuel mode on various test benches.

“These extensive findings form a strong foundation for our methanol retrofit concept,” said Lukas Köhler. “We see green methanol as an important future fuel for a wide range of marine applications, particularly for offshore vessels, ferries and mega yachts. With this certificate, we have reached another milestone on our methanol roadmap.” When burned, green methanol produces significantly lower nitrogen oxide and particulate emissions than diesel and, when assessed on a well-to-wake basis (from source to wake), has a significantly lower CO? footprint than fossil fuels.

Rolls-Royce is making targeted investments in future technologies and is continually expanding its expertise in sustainable fuels. The aim is to provide customers with effective ways of reducing their CO? emissions. As early as 2021, Rolls-Royce tested and approved its key mtu engine series for Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) and other sustainable fuels in accordance with DIN EN 15940. As part of its partnership with the German e-fuel manufacturer INERATEC, the company also successfully completed laboratory testing of the renewable synthetic fuel MATERA e-Diesel® in the spring of this year.