CIMAC CASCADES is an international seminar for young engineers and advanced students. It offers them the opportunity to meet with leading industry experts to share information and network together. The participants shall be inspired and encouraged to pursue engineering careers. This year’s event consisted of nine short presentations by young engineers describing their projects, how they approached them, the difficulties they encountered and the results they achieved. It was framed by a keynote speech and a panel discussion with sponsoring company partners.

Presentations were dealing with the topic “On the Way towards Decarbonization – Green Fuels, Hybridization and Digitalization in Large Engine Applications”. The topic reflects the changing world of large engines and the approaches to creating a reliable combustion engine that has a very low environmental impact.

Under the title “Zero emission shipping – from vision to the HyMethShip technology demonstrator”, Marcel Lackner (LEC) presented the HyMethShip concept, the engine related research questions that had to be solved and the development of the HyMethShip demonstrator.

Additional highlights of the event were a job fair with presentations and exhibitions by companies active in the areas of engine design, engine manufacturing and engine component supplies and a laboratory tour of selected engine test benches from the Large Engines Competence Center (LEC) and the Institute of Internal Combustion Engines and Thermodynamics (IVT). The evening reception at Congress Graz after the seminar was very well received and certainly deepened many new friendships.

Date: September 22, 2021

Venue: Graz University of Technology Campus – Large Engines Competence Center

„In the course of the HyMethShip-project a new multi-cylinder test bed equipped with an INNIO Jenbacher J612 engine has been built at LEC.
To enable the operation of this engine with hydrogen of the reformer several modifications had to be developed and tested.
Simply replacing the engine’s conventional fuel with hydrogen would not work.“

Marcel Lackner (LEC)

In the LEC lab tour the HyMethShip Demonstrator with its 2 MW INNIO Engine was featured.

The demand for mobility, transportation and energy supply is constantly increasing. Various drive concepts based on combustion engines, fuel cells, hybrid and battery-electric systems will be used for this purpose in the future. The main goal and, at the same time, the greatest challenge for their development is environmental compatibility and sustainability.

In the shipping sector and for applications with high energy requirements, internal combustion engines play a major role. HyMethShip is a concept that enables high power ship operation with (almost) zero pollutants and CO2 emissions.

Conference dates:
23rd – 24th of September, 2021,
Venue:
Congress Graz (Austria).

The program and speaker information can be accessed on the conference website:

https://www.ivt.tugraz.at/en/conference/

In the conference, more than 40 lectures were given by prominent international experts from industry and academia. New approaches and concepts were explained and discussed with a special focus on industry projects ready to be implemented in the next years.

HyMethShip was presented by Andreas Kunz (INNIO) in a keynote session and attracted great interest. A tour of the HyMethShip Demonstrator was part of the side event of the conference. There was also an offer of information material and discussion at the LEC booth in the exhibition area which was taken up by several participants.

^{Andreas Kunz (INNIO) presenting the HyMethShip concept}

^{LEC booth in exhibition area}

^{2 MW Multi-cylinder-engine of INNIO is the heart of the HyMethShip Demonstrator}

HyMethShip was among the projects chosen to be presented during the Zero Emission Seminar of Blue Week 2021.

The seminar was divided into 4 sessions titled:

1. Integrated Ships Solutions (Session 1)
2. Power & Energy Systems (Session 2)
3. Fuel Production & Supply (Session 3)
4. Rules & Regulations (Session 4)

HyMethShip was one of 3 projects in session 2 on power and energy systems. Nicole Wermuth (LEC) presented first experiences with the construction of the methanol reformer and with connecting it to the engine. The findings from the case study ship were addressed
in her speech, too.

Nicole’s and most other presentations
are available for download:
https://blueforum.org/presentatie-2021/

The second day of this year’s Blue Week is all about technologies that enable zero-emission shipping. Sharing experiences is particularly important in these times, as the course for a sustainable future of the sector will be set in the coming next years.

The seminar is divided into 4 sessions which are titled:

1. Integrated Ships Solutions (Session 1)
2. Power & Energy Systems (Session 2)
3. Fuel Production & Supply (Session 3)
4. Rules & Regulations (Session 4)

HyMethShip will join as one of 3 projects in session 2. Nicole Wermuth (LEC) will present first experiences with the construction of the methanol reformer and with connecting it to the engine. The findings from the case study ship are also already available and will be addressed in her speech.

Don`t miss it!

Event details:

Website: https://blueforum.org/
Date: Blue Week, 31 May –
4 June, 2021
Location: online

How will ships for long-haul freight and passenger transport be powered in 10 years‘ time? HyMethShip is one of the concepts that are featured in Session 3 („Advanced propulsion & fuels“) of the 2nd LSSTF on Wednesday, April 28. The session is starting at 9:00 (CEST).

Martin Borgh (SSPA) is the leader of HyMethShip workpackage 9 on system integration. He will give an overview of the HyMethShip-project and the results achieved so far. Specifically, he will present the design study and the integration of the HyMethShip energy system in the case study vessel – a RoPax on the route between Gothenburg and Kiel.

Nicole Wermuth (LEC) will moderate this session that in addition will present the FASTWATER-project (methanol propulsion and retrofitting), the ShipFC-project (Ammonia FC as sole energy supply) and the NAUTILUS-project (LNG powered ICE, hybridized with SOFC-FC and battery).

Date of the 2nd LSSTF: Tuesday, 27^th of April to Wednesday,
28^th of April, 2021
Registered participants receive a link to the live stream of the event.

Stay tuned with the newsletter: https://www.shippingforum.at/contact/

The Large Engines Competence Center LEC together with Hamburg Port Authority and Fraunhofer CML invites you to the 2^nd LEC Sustainable Shipping Technologies Forum which will take place as a virtual event with free online access.

The forum aims to foster the exchange of ideas, to harness synergies, to promote cooperation and to network relevant actors in the shipping sector for an emission-free future. Speakers will meet in Hamburg‘s historic Speicherstadt to guarantee a stimulating exchange for the online event. Participation for attendees will be possible only online this time.

This year’s topics are
• Green ports & infrastructure
• Ship efficiency technologies
• Advanced propulsion & fuels
• Ship emission monitoring & compliance

Be part of the green revolution in shipping and participate in stimulating discussions with internationally recognized experts.

The aim of the workshop was to complete a review of the HyMethShip systems to identify any potential operability issues with the system that could impact the safety of it. The team proceeded according to the HAZOP-method. This methodological technique is used to identify hazards and operational issues associated with a process or with the integration of a design into another system, like the HyMethShip-system into a vessel.

The pre-condition to perform a HAZOP-study is that the system is already engineered. So, the HyMethShip HAZOP was based on the Demonstrator-design of TU Graz (Work package 10) and on the vessel integration design of SSPA (Workpackage 9). System layout and arrangement was provided per drawings. The HAZOP study assumes that all equipment is installed, operated and maintained according to OEM recommendations and relevant legislation. So, normal operation was considered, but also possible abnormal and emergency conditions and scenarios were considered.

The principal objectives of the HAZOP Study are to identify:

– Integration and operability hazards associated with the HyMethShip system (what can go wrong and how), including the resulting consequences.
– The existing safeguards and mitigation measures, currently in place, and make recommendations where the level of risk could be further mitigated or reduced.

The HyMethShip systems was divided into the same nodes as in the HAZID study: the feed stream to the reformers, the permeate stream, the retentate stream and the heating system (thermal oil system). For each node, the team started identifying possible deviations of elements (e.g. sensors, lines, etc.) within the node. For all deviations that were found, the causes were established. Then the consequences were sought that resulted in harm to persons or releases to the environment. Safeguards that were already provided within the design were considered subsequently, their robustness was discussed and their suitability. If the existing design was deemed not robust enough or suitable to prevent any harm, a re-design was proposed as a follow-up action. The expected likelihood and frequency of each consequence was discussed and a risk rating assigned to it. Finally, recommendations were suggested, e.g. if any further information or studies on the design or on safeguards are required.

It became apparent that the system is already well elaborated. The team assumes that it can be run safely and that this can be demonstrated with a successful operation of the Demonstrator.

HyMethShip was among the case studies of this major conference.

World Hydrogen & Ammonia Shipping Forum 2020

As customers formalise their sustainability strategies, and governments and ports ramp up environmental regulations in line with 2050 targets, shipping stakeholders are forced to take the right decisions for a decarbonized zero-emission maritime economy of the future.

The Forum focussed on the economics, supply and technology issues specific to hydrogen and ammonia as maritime fuels and covering a broad range of vessel segments. The speakers were stakeholders from throughout the entire supply chain, including banks, government, regulators, energy companies, technology providers, ports and shipowners. HyMethShip was presented by Igor Sauperl (LEC) in the session “Picking the winning tech: storage and transportation options”, among another 8 innovative case studies.

The conference was a pure online event, organized by Green Power Global, however discussion was lively and HyMethShip aroused vivid interest.

Large ship engines were in the focus of this conference

Over the course of two days, this conference addressed a full range of issues related to marine engines. Sessions were dedicated to engine development trends, decarbonizing large engines, new fuels, trends in fuel injection & turbocharging, dual fuel ignition and combustion, etc. All major European engine manufacturers were represented among the participants, the exhibitors and the speakers.

The conference was a hybrid event, the presentations were held in front of a smaller audience to meet COVID-19 precautions. The majority of participants joined and took part online.

HyMethShip was presented by Nicole Wermuth (LEC) in the “Research in new fuels”-session. The title of her presentation was “Hydrogen- methanol and hydrogen-diesel dual fuel combustion systems”.

Event details:

Website:
https://rgmt.de/

Date:
3rd to 4th of September 2020

Location:
Rostock, Radisson Blu Hotel

Right from the beginning, the safety of the HyMethShip propulsion system was put on the test bench, too.

Lloyd’s Register conducted a HAZID -study online with all HyMethShip partners

All partners met for a 5 day Risk Assessment workshop, which proceeded according to the HAZID. Although it took place exclusively online, the participation was overwhelming, thanks to the good preparation of the event and of all participants.

Novel and complex technologies inevitably create new hazards and increased risks that must not compromise safety. The HyMethShip project explores a novel and ambitious research work, at the heart of which is a carbon capture system. Many of the individual sub-systems and their components, e.g. methanol reformer and absorption refrigeration plant are established technologies which are widely used in shore-based industries but have not been installed onboard a ship. The HyMethShip propulsion system deals with low-flashpoint fuels and other process fluids whose properties and hazards have to be considered: methanol as fuel; hydrogen gas as fuel; liquid carbon dioxide to be captured and stored on-board and ammonia gas used within the absorption refrigeration plant.

One of the objectives of HyMethShip is to ensure a robust hazard identification from an early stage of the project with a view to achieving an inherently safer design. When the design for the case study ship was completed in spring this year and the systems were provisionally placed, the time was right. Among others the following components were studied in a HAZID workshop in July: Methanol storage and transfer systems, reformer, thermal oil system, ammonia absorption refrigeration plant, CO2 system/storage/transfer, inert gas systems, clean water system, hydrogen, engine, operating modes (fuel change over, etc.) and emergency scenarios.