DNV issues approval for Hi-eGAS marine LNG fuel supply system

28 June 2022

Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (KSOE) and its subsidiary Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) have received an Approval in Principle (AiP) from DNV for their newly developed waste heat-derived LNG fuel supply system Hi-eGAS (Hyundai High Efficient Gas Supply System) for 300,000 dwt VLCC (very large crude carrier).

LNG fuel propulsion ships currently use boilers to make steam, which is used to evaporate LNG into gas at room temperature to supply the ship engine. However, this process increases fuel costs and carbon emissions. The idea of using waste heat of engine cooling water as a heat source for LNG-fueled ships has been considered, but has not been commercialized due to concerns that engine performance could be negatively affected.

The Hi-eGAS system consists of a safety system in which the engine will continue running normally in the event of an incident to the LNG fuel system, such as vaporizer leakage or failure of the jacket cooling water booster pump, temperature and pressure control valves.

The system also utilizes a new heat exchanger with low freezing risk, which KSOE and HHI developed in cooperation with domestic equipment companies.

KSOE successfully completed a 24-hour demonstration test last year at the LNG Cryogenic Mechanical Testing Certification Center at the Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials under the same conditions as the maximum fuel supply for large ships.

As IMO tightens marine environmental regulations on carbon emissions, DNV expects LNG to become a primary fuel for ships. In total, 805 LNG fueled vessels are on order or in operation, with a further 229 LNG ready vessels, according to DNV’s Alternative Fuels Insight (AFI) platform. In 2022 alone, more than 150 vessels were ordered with LNG as ship fuel.

These figures increased by about 70% since 2019, when the number of LNG ships was 318 confirmed, 150 on order, and 141 LNG ready as of June 1, 2019.

Source: DNV