Hyundai Heavy Industries develops hydrogen hybrid engine (HiMSEN)

Hyundai Heavy Group opens the age of hydrogen for ship fuel

Korea Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering and Hyundai Heavy Industries announced that it had successfully completed the performance verification of the ‘1.5MW class LNG/hydrogen hybrid engine (HiMSEN)’ developed with their own technology.

The LNG/Hydrogen hybrid engine is an eco-friendly engine that significantly reduces emissions of various harmful exhaust gases such as sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides, carbon dioxide, and fine dust by selectively using diesel fuel and LNG/hydrogen mixture fuel. In fact, it can be said that it is the first step of the hydrogen engine.

In fact, in a performance test, this engine met Tier 3, the highest grade among the nitrogen oxide regulations of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), and proved its excellent effect in reducing carbon dioxide and methane slip (methane emitted without complete combustion).

In particular, when an LNG/hydrogen hybrid engine is applied to a liquefied hydrogen carrier, the effect of ship operation is expected to be further maximized. This is because the hydrogen lost during the voyage can be minimized by reusing the hydrogen boil off gas (BOG) generated during the transportation process as fuel. In this regard, Hyundai Heavy Industries Group has proven its stability through DNV Classification Classification for the hydrogen carrier system to which the Himsen engine was applied at Gastech last September.

The scope of application of the LNG/hydrogen hybrid engine is not limited to ships. The LNG-hydrogen hybrid engine has a longer lifespan than hydrogen fuel cells used for small-scale land-based power generation, and has excellent load-following performance that adjusts power generation output according to changes in electrical load. It is expected to be used in land-based small-scale power generation and distributed generation.

An official from Hyundai Heavy Industries Group said, “There is a growing interest and need for carbon neutrality throughout the shipbuilding and marine industries.” It is.

Hyundai Heavy Industries Group plans to continue R&D on LNG/hydrogen hybrid engines in the future, complete the development of a hybrid engine with a higher proportion of hydrogen by 2023, and develop a complete hydrogen engine in 2025 to complete the establishment of a hydrogen ecosystem on land and sea.