J-ENG to develop two-stroke hydrogen-fuel marine engine

Hydrogen fuelled ship

Mitsui OSK Lines, MOL Drybulk and Japan Engine Corporation (J-ENG) have agreed to cooperate on a project which will see a hydrogen-fuel engine used on an in-service vessel.

The ship will be operated by Mitsui and MOL Drybulk, while the engine will be developed by J-ENG.

The engine is described as being the world’s first low-speed, two-stroke hydrogen-fuel marine engine for large vessels.

J-ENG will develop the engine in cooperation with Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) and Yanmar Power Technology. It will be suitable for either coastal or ocean-going vessels.

The project was selected for government funding through the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO), part of the Green Innovation Funding Program.

In April this year, it was reported that the same partner companies were to start development of various other hydrogen-fuel engines for maritime applications. This included research by KHI into a medium-speed four-stroke engine, while Yanmar would work on medium- and high-speed four-stroke engines.

KHI and Yanmar are also participating in projects to develop small hydrogen-powered ferries for domestic routes, while all group members are looking at ways to store and deliver hydrogen fuel for shipping.

The goal of the project will be to commercialise net-zero hydrogen power for use in vessels across the shipping industry.