Wärtsilä has developed a dedicated fuel supply system for methanol, MethanolPac, as interest in methanol grows as a pathway to decarbonisation. The system will be installed alongside the debut of the Wärtsilä 32 Methanol engine on Van Oord’s new wind turbine installation vessel Boreas.

Combined with the recently introduced Wärtsilä 32 Methanol engine and the company’s retrofit and system integration capabilities, MethanolPac enables Wärtsilä to deliver methanol-capable fuel and power systems across a wide range of vessel segments.

MethanolPac includes both the low- and high-pressure parts of the fuel supply system as well as the related control and safety functions. This includes the high-pressure Methanol Fuel Pump Unit, low-pressure pump module, fuel valve train, bunkering stations and tank instrumentation.

Also read: Van Oord’s new installation vessel to be equipped with Wärtsilä’s first newbuild methanol engines

Carbon neutral fuel

Methanol is a widely available fuel that is carbon neutral when produced from renewable sources and is easier to handle than many other alternative fuels. But with very few vessels currently operating on methanol, industry experience of integrating such systems is limited.

‘MethanolPac will reassure ship owners who may not know where to turn for help designing their methanol fuel and power system,’ says Mathias Jansson, Director, Fuel Gas Supply Systems, Wärtsilä Marine Power. ‘Wärtsilä does not just provide the methanol engine, we have the systems and capabilities to help customers realise methanol-fuelled vessels in full.’

Van Oord’s Boreas

Both MethanolPac and Wärtsilä’s first 32 Methanol engines will be installed on the wind turbine installation vessel under construction for Dutch dredging and offshore contractor Van Oord, the Boreas.

This 175-metre-long jack-up vessel will be able to install up to 20 MW wind turbines at sea with a very low CO2 footprint. Its Huisman crane can lift more than 3000 tonnes. The ship is expected to enter the market in 2024.

Also read: Van Oord orders methanol-powered mega ship to install 20-MW wind turbines

The newbuild Wärtsilä 32 Methanol engine combines long-established methanol fuel injection technology – first developed for the converted Wärtsilä Z40 engines on board ropax Stena Germanica in 2015 – with the cutting-edge control and automation systems of the well-established Wärtsilä 32 platform.

Methanol retrofits

Methanol fuel injection can also be retrofitted to any of the more than 5000 conventionally fuelled Wärtsilä 32 engines in operation. MethanolPac means that such retrofits can be dramatically simplified, with one supplier providing both engine and fuel supply system.

For many vessel segments, the Wärtsilä 32 Methanol and MethanolPac are among the first commercially available technologies for using methanol as a fuel. The Wärtsilä 32 Methanol is applicable either as a main engine or auxiliary generator on a wide range of vessel types from offshore support vessels to deep-sea merchant ships.

Also read: Methanol Institute: Methanol-fuelled ships less costly than those burning LNG

The MethanolPac fuel supply system and Wärtsilä 32 Methanol engine comprise a full solution for methanol in marine applications (by Wärtsilä).