Korea Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering and Hyundai Heavy Industries announced that they have successfully completed performance verification of the ‘1.5MW class LNG/hydrogen hybrid engine (HiMSEN)’ developed with their own technology, according to SAFETY4SEA.
The LNG/Hydrogen hybrid engine is an eco-friendly engine that significantly reduces emissions of various harmful exhaust gases such as sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides, carbon dioxide, and fine dust by selectively using diesel fuel and LNG/hydrogen mixture fuel. In fact, it can be said that it is the first step of the hydrogen engine.
In a performance test, this engine met Tier 3, the highest level among the nitrogen oxide regulations of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), and proved its excellent effect in reducing carbon dioxide and methane slip (methane emitted without complete combustion).
In particular, when an LNG-hydrogen hybrid engine is applied to a liquefied hydrogen carrier, the effect of ship operation is expected to be further maximized. This is because the hydrogen lost during the voyage can be minimized by reusing the hydrogen boil-off gas (BOG) generated during the transportation process as fuel.
Hyundai Heavy Industries Group plans to continue R&D on LNG/hydrogen hybrid engines in the future, complete the development of a hybrid engine with a higher proportion of hydrogen by 2023, and develop a complete hydrogen engine in 2025 to complete the establishment of a hydrogen ecosystem.