Alfa Laval Opens Expanded Test & Training Centre with New Focus on Gas-Fuelled Tech

Alfa Lavalhas completed the expansion of its Test & Training Centre in Aalborg.

Alfa Laval today announced that the expansion of the Alfa Laval Test & Training Centre in Aalborg has been completed, extending the centre's testing space by five times its original size, and enabling an added focus on combustion technologies for gas and other fuel alternatives.

"Our investment in the Alfa Laval Test & Training Centre reflects the extraordinary changes we see in the marine industry," said Peter Leifland, President of Alfa Laval's Marine Division.

"Tightening emissions legislation is driving many customers from residual fuels towards LNG and other alternatives. As a comprehensive marine supplier, we must be at the cutting edge in supporting our customers, no matter what fuel they choose."

The centre, which was opened in 2014, has been a hub of Alfa Laval research and development in exhaust gas cleaning, ballast water treatment, steam production, fuel cleaning, as well as other key areas, the company notes.

"The rate of change in marine legislation is increasing, and ship owners and operators are forced to keep in step," said Leifland.

"With the expanded capabilities of the Alfa Laval Test & Training Centre, we will ensure that onboard technologies are ready to meet their technical challenges – whether the fuel is diesel, gas or something else altogether."

Alfa Laval says that, among its projects, it is currently testing a new dual-fuel burner for gas-diesel applications on smaller boilers, which it intends to develop into a multi-fuel solution through a joint effort with the Danish Technical University in Copenhagen.

"Within 15 years, it is expected that thousands of vessels will be sailing with LNG as fuel, compared to the hundreds using gas today," said Lars Skytte Jorgensen, Vice President of Alfa Laval Product Centre Boilers.

"We can clearly see emission regulations driving the trend. But the success of the transition will depend in large part on advanced technology, much of which has yet to be developed."

In July, Ship & Bunker reported that Alfa Laval had launched PureSOx Global, a new exhaust gas cleaning system designed specifically to meet the upcoming 0.50 percent global sulfur limit for bunkers.