- Knud E. Hansen (KEH) has presented its design of a series of medium-capacity LNG bunkering tankers under the name of the X-gas Project.
- With the X-gas Project, the company wanted to create a new platform that will support the clean energy transition.
- The platform is customizable and can be tailored to accommodate a range of tank capacities, as well as various containment systems including membrane tanks.
Marine consultancy Knud E. Hansen has unveiled the X-gas Project, a series of ‘innovative and unconventional,’ medium-capacity LNG bunker tankers, reports LNG Industry.
Highly customisable platform
The flagship design of the project is a 126.5 metre vessel with a total cargo capacity of 9,000 cubic metres (cbm), split between two Type C tanks. The ‘highly customisable’ platform can also be tailored to accommodate a range of tank capacities, as well as various containment systems including membrane tanks.
According to Danish Knud E. Hansen, a key feature of the X-gas platform is a low-profile, forward deck house, which it says enables the vessel to safely approach and pull alongside cruise ships with low-hanging lifeboats.
Lastly, the forward deck house allows for larger cargo tanks without impeding bridge visibility.
Fuel efficient propulsion plant
The design features a ‘novel and extremely fuel-efficient’ diesel electric power and propulsion plant comprising what Knud E. Hansen claims to be one of the most fuel efficient dual-fuel 4-stroke engines.
Integrated with the propulsion plant is an Energy Storage System (ESS) with a lithium-ion battery bank that allows for engine load optimisation with reduced methane slip. The batteries also provide all of the power required during cargo transfer.
Clean energy transition
Boil-off gas from the cargo tanks is captured and consumed in the dual-fuel engines and the energy surplus generated can be stored in the batteries. Waste heat from the engine cooling water is converted to electric and thermal power through a number of ORC (Organic Rankine Cycle) waste heat units.
Wasted energy captured during operation can be stored in accumulators and released as required to drive absorption chiller and reduce the electrical load onboard. This approach, says Knud E. Hansen, boosts energy efficiency to ‘a very high level.’
Energy bay feature
Another feature of the design highlighted by Knud E. Hansen is an aft ‘energy bay’ that allows the vessel to provide containers loaded with fuel or stored electrical power to a receiving vessel.
It also allows the vessel to provide fully charged battery banks to remote locations ashore, where current infrastructure does not allow sufficient power to be provided.
Knud E. Hansen says it is already expanding the X-gas platform to accommodate zero emission fuels such as liquid and compressed hydrogen.
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Source: LNG Industry
