Swiss marine engine manufacturer Winterthur Gas and Diesel (WinGD) will offer an ethanol-fuelled marine engine from 2026.
Deliveries of newbuild and retrofit two-stroke engines will start in 2027. The engine is an adaptation of the X-DF methanol-fuelled engine and the result of a decade of research, the company said today.
The maritime transport sector has been investing in the product as it is a way of complying with the [International Maritime Organisation regulations, although FuelEU Maritime and the EU renewable energy directive RED III do not accept first-generation biofuels made from food crops for emissions reduction because they pose a risk to food security.
Other companies have also announced investments in ethanol as a marine fuel. German engine manufacturer Everllence said it has ran a two-stroke dual-fuel marine engine on ethanol. Brazilian contractors Sotreq and Grupo CBO also plan to develop a ship engine prototype that can run on diesel blended with ethanol in 2026. Research by Wartsila also concluded that ethanol is viable as a marine fuel due to its similarity to methanol.
