Mitsui E&S Machinery expands turbocharger portfolio with non-exclusive licence to manufacture MET series for its two-stroke Mitsui MAN B&W engines
One of Japan’s leading two-stroke enginebuilders, Mitsui E&S Machinery (MES-M), will begin producing its first marine turbochargers under licence from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Marine Machinery & Equipment (MHI-MME) in 2023.
A non-exclusive agreement, signed February 2022 with MHI-MME, cleared the way for the Japanese enginebuilder to produce /MBII series turbochargers for its Mitsui MAN B&W engines.
MES-M plans to start manufacture with three types of MET exhaust gas type turbochargers, namely /66MBII, with other types to follow according to market requirements.
MET-MBII-series axial turbochargers were approved for use by two of the world’s leading two-stroke engine designers in 2020 and 2021.
MHI-MME developed the MET-MBII-series axial turbochargers in response to environmental regulations. The more compact MET-MBII models provide 16% more air flow volume than its previous generation turbochargers.
The new turbochargers were approved for use in MAN Energy Solutions’ two-stroke Diesel-cycle, high-pressure engines in December 2020. The following year, Winterthur Gas & Diesel Ltd (WinGD) granted approval to the MET-MBII Series turbochargers for use with all its Otto-cycle, two-stroke, low-pressure dual-fuel (X-DF) engines. WinGD had previously approved their use in its Diesel-cycle engines.
Part of Mitsui E&S Holdings, MES-M designs, manufactures, installs and services marine diesel engines, port cranes, compressors, turbochargers, gas turbines, heat exchangers and other equipment. It has been manufacturing MAN B&W marine engines since its technical tie-up in 1926.
MET MB and MBII are not the only turbochargers that will be manufactured by MES-M under licence. It has produced more than 4,000 sets of turbochargers over 40 years since signing the first licence agreement with MAN Turbochargers in 1981.
By adding MET turbochargers to its product portfolio, MES-M expects to leverage its position as a leading enginebuilder to enhance the customer experience by strengthening the total support system of Mitsui-MAN B&W engines throughout the lifecycle, from newbuilding to after-sales service.
Under the new licence agreement, MES-M will undertake after-sales service on all MET turbochargers installed on Mitsui-MAN B&W engines, as well as those it manufactures.
MHI-MME has a long history of turbocharger design and manufacture, first marketing water-cooled models in the 1950s, before developing the world’s first non-water-cooled turbocharger, a forerunner of the MET series. Since then, the lineup has been expanded to include numerous high-efficiency, large-capacity models.
With more than 39,000 units in total, MHI-MME estimates it owns a near 40% share of the global market for turbochargers for two-stroke marine engines, according to its research.
Meanwhile, MES-M reached cumulative production of more than 7,000 Mitsui-B&W engines, with a cumulative total of 110M hp as of 2021.
