WinGD installs first ammonia-fueled two-stroke marine engine
16 July 2025
WinGD announced it has become the first engine designer to bring an ammonia-fueled two-stroke marine engine to market following the delivery and installation of its X52DF-A engine on a 46,000 m3 LPG/ammonia carrier being built for EXMAR. The vessel will be the first ammonia-fueled gas carrier in service, and the engine among the first of WinGD’s ammonia-fueled X-DF-A design to enter commercial operation.
The 52-bore engine was built by HD Hyundai Heavy Industries’ Engine & Machinery Business Unit (HHI-EMD) and installed on the first of four sister vessels to be built at HD Hyundai Mipo shipyard in South Korea. The results from WinGD’s laboratory test engine runs were confirmed at the factory, with low emissions and efficient performance similar to diesel, WinGD said.
The X-DF-A engine features high-pressure ammonia injection supplemented by a pilot diesel fuel dose of around five percent at full load. The engine delivers load handling, dynamic response and fuel efficiency on par with WinGD’s equivalent diesel-fueled X Engines in both ammonia and diesel operating modes. WinGD will continue further optimization for the second engine in the 52-bore series, which is to be delivered later this year.
Ammonia fuel has been promoted as a technology to decarbonize the shipping industry. While ammonia is produced from natural gas and does not reduce GHG emissions, marine decarbonization policies envision that in the future, ‘green’ ammonia would be produced from renewable electricity. WinGD said it has an early orderbook of around 30 X-DF-A engines to date, on vessels including not only gas carriers but also bulk carriers and container ships.
Source: WinGD