EMEA News
Rolls-Royce Announces Trial of LNG-Powered Ferry on Germany's Lake Constance
Rolls-Royce Power Systems AG (Rolls-Royce) today announced that, along with the City of Constance public utility, it will begin testing a MTU gas engine on the public utility's new car ferry in 2019 on Lake Constance.
"Here on Lake Constance we are joining forces to set a standard for others in the industry to follow, which will gain us international recognition in the world of domestic shipping," said Andreas Schell, CEO of Rolls-Royce Power Systems.
Rolls-Royce says the liquefied natural gas (LNG)-powered vessel will be "the first inland waterway passenger vessel in Europe to be propelled by straightforward high-speed gas engines."
Norbert Reuter, head of the Constance public utility, commenting on the development, said: "this cooperation agreement with Rolls-Royce Power Systems marks the continuation of our partnership which now spans over 30 years. During this time we have shared our commitment to reducing emissions harmful to the environment and to strengthening Lake Constance as a region."
Under the cooperation agreement, which was signed on Friday, Rolls-Royce and the public utility will conduct a two-year trial of the propulsion system in the ferry under continuous service conditions with both partners collating data.
"Gas engines for mobile applications form a core component of our Green and Hightech initiative," said Schell.
"This flagship project is being realised on our local ferry service between the towns of Meersburg and Constance, which allows us to demonstrate the effectiveness of our new technology and set an international trend right on our doorstep. We firmly believe that in shipping, gas engines are set to play a pivotal role as a back-up to well-proven diesel engine technology."
Earlier this month, Rolls-Royce plc announced the launch of its next generation Energy Management (EM) System, which the company says will enable customers to reduce energy usage, fuel consumption, and operating costs while supporting environmental compliance.
