Dual-fuel (Gaseous/Diesel) Engines – Opportunities, Challenges & Strategies to Expand the Market – the third in the series of Critical Issues Workshops – Brussels, Belgium on 30 & 31 March 2010
This forum aims to identify and explore the most important technology, marketing and regulatory issues related to gaseous fuelled (natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas – LPG) ‘dual-fuel’ diesel engines. Engine experts, fleet operators and government regulatory specialists will meet in Brussels to discuss the range of different dual-fuel technologies, operating experiences and regulatory issues that must be addressed in order to overcome the market entry challenges faced by these economic and low polluting engine technologies. Speakers and the audience will participate in an open dialogue designed to create a strategy that encourages the development of a new regulatory framework to allow the certification of dual-fuel gaseous engine systems and results in increased worldwide market penetration of dual-fuel engines and vehicles.
Dual-fuel Gaseous/Diesel Engines: Approaching diesel efficiency but cleaner & cheaper
Dual-fuel gas engines are designed to operate on natural gas or LPG blended with varying amounts of diesel fuel as a ‘pilot’ ignition source. Dual-fuel natural gas engines replace up to 85-95% diesel; dual-fuel LPG engines replace about 35-40% diesel. This makes these so-called ‘giesel engines’ especially valuable in circumstances where the use of natural gas or LPG is desired for environmental or economic reasons but where the gaseous fuel supply is not available in all locations. Today’s sophisticated, computer controlled dual-fuel retrofit systems are being developed as ‘bolt on’ technologies that can be removed if necessary, to resell the vehicle as a normal diesel engine. This flexibility makes these engines very useful for heavy duty applications, affording a good business case in many global markets.
Dual-fuel Engines are becoming more widespread for on-road and off-road applications
Dual-fuel systems provided by a small number of technology companies are becoming increasingly popular in North America, Europe, Australia and China, among others. Most of these are retrofit systems, however, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) are showing more interest in these promising technologies.
- Volvo is working with dual-fuel system suppliers to offer OEM-quality dual-fuel trucks.
- Bosch has been developing a natural gas dual-fuel injector that, if brought to market, could make a major contribution to the growth of OEM dual-fuel technology.
- Some OEMs, such as Wärtsilä, supply dual-fuel gas engines for large ocean-going ships and smaller internal waterway vessels.
Great potential, but difficult challenges must be overcome
There are a variety of regulatory and technical challenges that impede the rapid market penetration of dual-fuel engines and vehicles.
- Regulations to enable certification of dual-fuel engines must be created at the international, United Nations level. In the absence of clear regulatory guidelines, some countries allow dual-fuel vehicles, some provide ‘exemptions’ on a case-by-case basis, and other countries prohibit the systems altogether.
- Questions remain about which emissions test cycles should be used, or whether these engines should be tested only as a diesel, as a gas engine, or both.
- Because dual-fuel systems continue to use diesel fuel, complicated emissions after-treatment systems also may be necessary, which increases the cost and complexity of the vehicle system.
The goal of the Critical Issues Workshop is to create a strategy to develop a new regulatory framework for dual-fuel engines and thus improve their market potential.
More information at www.dualfuelstrategies.com.
PDF 
