Anglo Belgian Corporation (ABC) yesterday announced the introduction of a brand-new, multifuel engine platform facilitating the transition from conventional fuel to new and future fuel types. With the new EVOLVE range, ABC wants to help business partners to evolve towards an ultra-low or zero-emission operation. The first member of this range is a compact yet very powerful 4-cylinder medium speed engine: the 4EL23.
The announcement that ABC would present something special at Europort 2021 attracted a large audience to Hall 1 of Rotterdam Ahoy. At exactly 3 pm it became clear that the engineers of the Belgian company had not been sitting still during the pandemic. ABC not only developed new engines but also invested in its production facilities and devoted a significant part of its resources to R&D.
And that eventually led to the unveiling of the 4EL23 by Maëlle, granddaughter of the Froidbise family, the shareholders of the ABC Group.
ABC bet on a multifuel platform because the future is difficult to predict. Will harbours become low emission zones, just like cities? Will hydrogen replace all other fuels? EVOLVE is developed to tackle the challenge of uncertainty and to stay fuel independent and efficient.
Green future
With the 4EL23, the first member of the EVOLVE range, ABC opens up a new route towards a green future for maritime transportation. They call it “the combustion engine of the next century, whatever the fuel.”
The 4EL23 is the first multifuel medium-speed engine to face the transition from fossil-based to zero-carbon head-on. “We are changing the game”, the company writes in a press release. “As such, we both propel the profitable growth of our clients and protect the future of our planet. At ABC, performance, efficiency, and future-proof versatility go together. With the 4EL23 and the EVOLVE range, we innovate uncertainty and unpredictability out of the equation.”
The 4EL23 is a compact, strong medium-speed 4-cylinder engine delivering engine performance at full and partial load. To support the current energy transition, the 4EL23 is fully optimized to run efficiently on diesel with EATS technology for ultra-low emissions until other fuels are economically available.
Ultra-low CO2 emissions
It is not the first time that ABC presents an extremely innovative technique. In 2018, a joint venture was established with CMB, and the following year, the BEH2YDRO dual fuel hydrogen engines were launched. That ABC’s DZC engine is already “hydrogen ready” in a dual fuel version (DZD – 85% H2 gas & 15% liquid fuel). This hydrogen engine is available with 6, 8, 12 or 16 cylinders and has a power output from 1.000 up to 2.670 kW. With a dual fuel hydrogen engine, CO2 emissions are greatly reduced due to the combustion of hydrogen.
The DZD hydrogen engine can also be combined with an after-treatment system in which the smaller proportion of diesel that is burned can be filtered through a particle filter for the soot particles and a catalytic converter for the nitrogen gases. The ultra-low CO2 emissions combined with the ultra-low emissions of soot particles and nitrogen succeed in meeting the latest and stringent emission standards worldwide.
The joint venture between Anglo Belgian Corporation (ABC) and Compagnie Maritime Belge (CMB) is unique because of its high level of involvement in hydrogen R&D. This partnership is very important for the near future of hydrogen development for heavy-duty applications.
The DZD hydrogen engine and the 4EL23 can both be seen in booth 1201.
