The Danish State initiative EUDP has launched the ‘NH3 Spark – FutureFlex’ project aimed at creating a dual-fuel, four-stroke GenSet capable of operating solely on ammonia without pilot fuel, described as a first for a commercial, industrial engine.
The consortium is led by MAN Energy Solutions’ Holeby site with the Technical University of Denmark and Skovgaard Energy. The project consists of four phases. The first stage, scheduled to begin in Q3 2025, involves ammonia testing on a single-cylinder MAN GenSet at DTU Construct’s engine laboratory. Subsequent full-scale testing will be carried out under powerplant conditions at Skovgaard Energy’s green-ammonia production facility.
Jarl Klüssmann, NH3 Spark Project Manager, said: “We support the energy transition and are always happy to work with like-minded industry partners. This project brings together a unique constellation of collaborators with different competencies and I am confident we will deliver practicable results that the market will be able to capitalise upon.”
MAN Energy Solutions intends to take an innovative approach by developing a small-bore engine prioritizing simplicity, price and retrofit suitability, which the company notes is relevant for more than 20,000 MAN GenSet engines designed at the Holeby location. The project will also evaluate the concept’s suitability for other low-emission fuels.
Warley Thomsen, Senior R&D Specialist at MAN Energy Solutions, said: “This project has the potential to create a new niche for the well-proven oil-fuelled engine where units can be quickly retrofitted or installed onboard new ships or in power plants. It aims to provide an attractive retrofit solution for existing engines with fuel-flexibility as a priority. The concept will be capable of operating purely on ammonia but also on conventional biofuel oils to accommodate shipowners and the environment, regardless of which future-fuels ultimately prevail.”
MAN Energy Solutions SE is an engineering company headquartered in Germany and part of the Volkswagen Group. It develops large-scale industrial machinery, including marine propulsion systems, turbomachinery and engines for power generation. The company operates globally through manufacturing sites and service networks.
