Auxiliary MAN 21/31DF-M units make market début in order for Pure Car and Truck Carriers powered by MAN B&W ME-LGIM prime movers; segment trending toward methanol as future sustainable fuel

China Merchants Heavy Industry (CMHI) has ordered six small-bore, seven-cylinder 21/31DF-M, methanol-burning GenSets in connection with the construction of 2 × 9,300 ceu (car equivalent units) PCTCs for China Merchants Energy Shipping (CMES). The business represents the very first order for the new methanol-powered, MAN four-stroke GenSet. MAN Energy Solutions’ licensee, CMP, will build the engines in China with first delivery due in Q1, 2025.

The 3 × 7L21/31DF-M GenSets aboard each of the two vessels will accompany an MAN B&W 7S60ME-LGIM (-Liquid Gas Injection Methanol) main engine previously ordered by CMHI in May 2023. Vessel delivery is set respectively for 2025 and 2026, and the contract includes an option for another four vessels.

Bjarne Foldager, Head of Two-Stroke Business, MAN Energy Solutions, said: “The vehicle-transport sector’s interest in using methanol is at an all-time high driven by the need for expanded capacity – due to robust Chinese car-sales – and emission regulations. Within the PCTC segment, CMES is the first mover to methanol, which we expect will figure prominently as a future fuel across all vessel segments.”

Foldager added: “As happy as we were to initially win the main engines for this exciting project, we are even more satisfied to add these methanol-driven GenSets – their first such sale and one which fits with our aim to increasingly become a supplier of complete decarbonisation solutions.”

The 21/31DF-M is based on a simple port fuel-injection concept that optimises reliability, while simultaneously minimising capital-outlay time. The foundation for the new L21/31DF-M GenSet is the existing L21/31 GenSet, which has accumulated more than 55 million operating hours with thousands of engines in service. Furthermore, the L21/31DF-M power range spans 1,000–1,980 kW, which makes it suitable for most merchant vessels.

Thomas S. Hansen, Head of Promotion and Customer Support, MAN Energy Solutions, said: “The shipping industry is showing an increasing interest in decarbonisation by operating vessels on green methanol, which has spurred us to expand our well-proven, dual-fuel GenSet portfolio with this small-bore L21/31DF-M engine. The new GenSet benefits from the high reliability, high performance and fuel flexibility of the 21/31 engine platform, while the possibility to operate on green methanol as a drop-in fuel increases its fuel-flexibility. At the same time, it increases methanol’s potential as an option for GenSet power generation aboard large marine merchant vessels.”