Finland – MethanolPac, Wärtsilä’s methanol fuel supply system, was developed in response to the growing interest in methanol as a decarbonization fuel.
Together with the recently introduced Wärtsilä 32 Methanol engine and the company’s proven retrofit and system integration capabilities, MethanolPac helps Wärtsilä deliver methanol-capable fuels and power systems to a wide range of vessel segments. Many alternative fuels are more difficult to handle than methanol because of their high carbon footprints. As a result, the industry’s experience with methanol-powered vessels is extremely limited.
Fuel supply and control and safety functions are included in MethanolPac, which includes both low- and high-pressure parts of the fuel supply system. High-pressure pump unit for methanol fuel as well as fuel valve train and bunkering stations as well as tank instrumentation are all included in this system.
System debut
The Wärtsilä 32 Methanol engine will make its debut on a wind turbine installation vessel under construction for Van Oord, a Dutch dredging and offshore ship operator. Sophisticated control and automation systems have been developed for the well-known Wärtsilä 32 platform, and the new Wärtsilä 32 Methanol engine incorporates this technology into its control and automation systems.
Any of the more than 5,000 Wärtsilä 32 engines currently in service can be retrofitted with methanol fuel injection. To simplify retrofits, MethanolPac provides both the engine and fuel supply system from a single supplier.
Using methanol as a fuel is now commercially available for the first time in many vessel segments thanks to the Wärtsilä 32 Methanol and MethanolPac. On a wide range of vessels, the Wärtsilä 32 Methanol can be used as a main engine or as an auxiliary generator, depending on the type of vessel.
