According to a statement by Hanwha Engine, it held an event at its Changwon headquarters on August 29, officially announcing the first shipment of the 5X72DF-2.2 engine equipped with VCR technology.
Hanwha Ocean said this newly produced engine marks the first application of VCR technology—developed by engine specialist WinGD after over a decade of technical validation—on an LNG carrier.
Hanwha Ocean stated that the new engine is scheduled to be installed on vessels constructed by Samsung Heavy Industries as part of the massive QatarEnergy shipbuilding program.
VCR technology maximizes fuel efficiency and reduces carbon dioxide emissions by adjusting the engine compression ratio in real-time according to operating conditions.
Hanwha Ocean said it is drawing “significant” interest in the global shipping industry, where greenhouse gas reduction is crucial, as it can reduce methane slip—where LNG fuel leaks into the atmosphere unburned—by 30 percent to 50 percent compared to existing methods.
The company stated that it had already secured orders for approximately 70 VCR-equipped engines, valued at 700 billion won ($503.5 million).
Earlier this year, Switzerland-based engine maker WinGD, a unit of China’s CSSC, completed shop tests of its VCR technology.
WinGD claims that the results confirm that methane reductions from new X-DF engines with VCR technology deliver similar ship GHG emissions to high-pressure dual-fuel technologies, while delivering a total system cost and fuel cost advantage for several vessel applications.
The VCR shop test was completed at Mitsui E&S DU facilities in Japan, where the first X‑DF2.0 engines with VCR are being built for bulk carriers owned by NYK Lines.
