Christian Hoepfner, Managing Director at Wessels Marine GmbH joins the programme on day two of Propulsion & Future Fuels 2019 in the LNG future fuel showcase.

MAN Energy Solutions and Wessels Marine will demonstrate a retrofitted feeder container ship, showcasing its use of synthetic natural gas (SNG) produced from renewable electrical energy.

The companies are cooperating on the Wes Amelie project with Nauticor, the LNG transportation company, and Unifeeder, the charter company. The 1,036teu vessel was refitted in 2017.

Christian Hoepfner, Managing Director at Wessels Marine GmbH joins the programme on day two of Propulsion & Future Fuels 2019 in the LNG future fuel showcase. Hoepfner will be presenting ‘Two years' hands on experience with LNG as marine fuel’ and will be providing the operator perspective in this session. His presentation will cover what has been achieved within the last two years, where they stand right now and how they will transfer knowledge of the learning curve towards zero-emission transportation.

The new SNG project means that twenty of the 120 tonnes of LNG that the Wes Amelie typically uses per trip will be replaced by climate-neutral SNG, reducing CO2 emissions by 50 tonnes. Fuel will be generated from wind energy and will be provided by Audi once its SNG liquefaction plant in Werlte is completed in 2020.

“This is another important milestone and proof of concept for the Maritime Energy Transition, the initiative we have been driving since 2016,” said Stefan Eefting, head of MAN PrimeServ in Augsburg. “We strongly believe that a roadmap based on LNG and SNG as fuels can lead the way to a decarbonised future for shipping and, in Wessels Marine, we have the perfect partner.”

MAN Energy Solutions reports that the retrofit has reduced SOX emissions by >99%, NOX by approximately 90%, and CO2 by up to 20%. As a result, the vessel now meets both Tier II and Tier III emission requirements set by the International Maritime Organisation.

View the final programme here.

Hear real-time developments from our cohort of expert speakers this year! Book your place today online or contact the team on +44 1329 825335. Email conferences@propulsionconference.com.