MAN Energy Solutions Offers Decarbonization Incentives
“MAN Energy Solutions believes fully in its technology, to the extent that we pledge to subsidize the first 10 shipowners that convert their engines to LNG [liquefied natural gas] or a gas-derived fuel – up to a cumulative total of 2 million Euros – because I think someone has to stimulate the industry to think more holistically and long-term,” said the engine maker's chief sales officer and executive board member Wayne Jones OBE, at a recent conference in Athens.
Jones was speaking at the 4th annual Naftemporiki Shipping Conference, held on October 3, which gathered an assorted audience of shipowners and industry players to discuss the status of Greek/European shipping and the environment and debated the impending challenges facing the sector.
“From the engine-maker’s point of view, one of the biggest challenges is to reach agreement on which fuel to use, one that will meet not only the regulations of today, but those of tomorrow. What will everyone use in the future or will there be a myriad of fuels?
“For me, the only way forward is to go with gaseous fuels – and the infrastructure will follow in due course,” Jones said during a panel discussion on decarbonization, the latest fuels introduced to the market, and the impact of the impending International Maritime Organization (IMO) regulations, among other matters.
His statements tie in with MAN Energy Solutions’ call to action to reduce emissions and establish natural gases as the fuels of choice in global shipping. Its so-called ‘Maritime Energy Transition’ strongly promotes a global ‘turn to gas’, driven by the IMO, and a common approach by the shipping industry and politics to invest in infrastructure development and retrofits.
To date, MAN Energy Solutions’ entire portfolio of dual-fuel engines has won almost 400 projects in total, all running on clean fuels such as LNG and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).
