Rien Hoogerbrugge News

MAN Diesel & Turbo, Wärtsilä and Winterthur Gas & Diesel to collaborate on major, EU-funded project. A major cross-industry initiative led by MAN Diesel & Turbo, Wärtsilä, and Winterthur Gas & Diesel, to develop basic technologies for use in 2- and 4-stroke marine engines has been officially launched. The Hercules-2 project is aimed at fostering environmentally sustainable and more efficient shipping. It is in line with general European Union policy and is partly funded by the EU. Altogether, 32 marine industry partners from 11 different companies, 16 universities, and five research organisations are cooperating in this project, with NTU Athens as coordinator. The R&D efforts focus on four main areas.

Wärtsilä, China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (CSIC) and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) inaugurated their new, jointly owned, low-speed marine engine factory QMD in Qingdao, Shandong province. The state-of-the-art QMD factory features a modern welding shop, machine shop, assembly shop, and a testing shop, as well as facilities for heat treatment, blasting and painting. This engine production factory has automated equipment and processes, the flexible use of test beds, and the possibility to test two large engines at full load in parallel.