Shipowners face several tasks because of current economic
and ecological circumstances. ABB Turbocharging has invested heavily in recent years and expects more purpose-designed products.
As shipping continues to face the challenges of tightening regulation and market conditions, ABB Turbocharging says marine equipment must be[ds_preview] able to adapt to unpredictable circumstances as never before. Oliver Riemenschneider, ABB Turbocharging Group Senior Vice President, CEO and Manager, Global Business Unit Turbocharging, is in the vanguard of the technology group’s drive to engage its shipowner clientele in a new and more searching dialogue.
In heading a global turbocharger supplier to larger and smaller owners alike, and a technology partner of the world’s leading marine engine developers, Riemenschneider exhibits pragmatism on issues of profitability that are common to all. The refreshing realism lies in a conviction that, while it must be responsive to immediate technical needs, ABB Turbocharging must also adapt to underlying market and regulatory trends on its customers’ behalf. Slow steaming, for example, has been »a severe technical challenge, but it is a symptom of the market rather than a driver«, he says.
Again, many see the introduction of new restrictions on NOx emissions from 2016 as a turning point for shipping. While acknowledging the milestone, Riemenschneider believes owners will scramble to have keels laid in advance of the rules coming into force, blurring the effect of their true impact into 2017–18, and even into 2019.
The company has invested heavily in aligning its products with the new generation marine engines now entering service that will meet emissions and performance expectations in the years ahead. Exemplary is ABB Turbocharging’s new A200-L turbocharger for low-speed two-stroke engines, which features an improved design of compressor wheel, ABB states. According to the company, A200-L attains up to 30% greater volume flow, higher pressure ratios and increased overall efficiency than its direct predecessor in a considerably smaller package, »generating more power, fuel efficiency gains and significant emissions reductions«. Again, newer four-stroke engines demand higher turbocharging pressure ratios for the very strong Miller Cycles required to realize high NOx reduction percentages. Higher pressure parameters have driven the development of Power2 two-stage turbocharging by ABB.
Flexible approach
In line with the realistic engagement sought by ABB, Riemenschneider also raises the uncertainty of the impact of the forthcoming restrictions on sulphur and nitrogen emissions that become effective in Emissions Control Areas from January 2015 and 2016 respectively. While these rules are bringing owners to crunch time on fuel choices and after treatment solutions, he points out that the operational areas affected are limited. »It remains open as to whether owners will convert all of their ships to a particular solution, or only those operating in the zones affected; these are decisions that involve a trade-off between investments and future operating flexibility.« Owners opting to stick solely, or partly, with HFO, will face their own challenges in the years ahead, he notes. Technologies such as exhaust gas recovery and selective catalytic reduction (SCR) are proven to work, but Riemenschneider adds that they are not proven for every vessel type and some technical issues remain unresolved. »In the case of scrubbers, this is more about management, because there is an increase in back pressure but it is not a fundamental issue. For SCR systems, there is a more critical issue, because these systems tend to absorb energy as engine loads pick up and they need to be operated in a certain exhaust gas temperature range; there is a balance to be struck between engine concept and temperature control. In this case, the remedy lies in engine control and turbocharger specification.«
For him, all of these factors, and others besides, mean that the bulk of owners are seeking first and foremost to keep their options open. »Operating flexibility is the number one requirement for vessel owners today,« says Riemenschneider. »As a supplier of turbochargers for new and older marine engines, installed in a full range of vessel types, we expect greater availability of purpose-designed products, covering different dynamic conditions, different fuels, different lifetimes and serviceability requirements. We expect this to be the case in low, medium and high-speed ranges.«
Oliver Riemenschneider
