China unveils world's largest methanol-powered dual fuel engine

China has launched the world's largest methanol-powered dual fuel engine in Shanghai, its producer announced on Tuesday. 

Fully Chinese-made, developed by China State Shipbuilding Cooperation and weighing nearly 1,953 tons with a maximum power output of 64,500 kilowatts, this "giant heart" of vessels is soon set to be installed on a 16,000-TEU container ship for its debut.

With its advanced digitalized smart control system, the mega engine generates 95 percent of its power with methanol fuel, reducing carbon dioxide emission by over 7.5 percent.

"Let us make a comparison. Suppose the engine runs 300 days every year, the carbon emission reduced is equal to the total emissions of 72,000 gasoline passenger cars in a year," said Dong Jingjin, project manager of the methanol engine project at the China State Shipbuilding Cooperation.

The engine is poised to meet the huge market demand amid the ongoing green transformation of the water transport industry.

"Engines of this type have now been successfully installed on container ships and bulk carriers. The following market demand for methanol engines is quite considerable, and we are going to turn out different methanol engines in two to three years, hopefully applied to more types of chemical carriers and special purpose vessels, and provide more environment-friendly and efficient power solutions," said Dong.