Eltronic FuelTech announced that it offered equipment for supplying fuel from tanks to engines on methanol-powered ships. This can save shipping companies both money as well as energy while enhancing safety.
The naming of Laura Mærsk, A.P. Moller-Maersk’s first container ship that can sail on green methanol, marked the start of more sustainable shipping. In the wake of this, the Danish engineering company Eltronic FuelTech has now launched a new supply system – a so-called Low-flashpoint Fuel Supply system (LFSS) – for this particular vessel.
Embracing green methanol as a fuel has been increasing markedly in recent years, and with the new LFSS system, we can make a significant contribution to the green transition of the shipping industry. In the past, several suppliers were required to put together a complete fuel supply system all the way from the fuel tank to the engine, but the fact that we can now supply the entire system brings multiple benefits.
..says Louise Andreasen, CEO at Eltronic FuelTech.
There are savings associated with the logistics, as one and the same container can be used for spare parts for the entire system, and fewer repair technicians will be required in connection with maintenance.
While most other supply systems on the market use two pumps to pump the methanol around, Eltronic FuelTech has managed to create an LFSS with only one pump, thereby saving considerable energy. In addition, it is now possible to adjust the pump depending on the engine load, so that only the right amount of methanol is supplied to the engine, something which has not been possible until now.
This means that if a ship is sailing slowly, the pump automatically adjusts to the load, so that it only runs at 60% of full power for example. With other systems, unnecessarily large quantities of methanol are pumped around the system, which clearly affects electricity consumption, especially on large ships.
..says Louise Andreasen.
In addition to developing systems for a ship’s main engines, Eltronic FuelTech has also developed a compact combined system to supply the ship’s auxiliary engines with fuel from the tanks.
