WinGD opens new R&D facility in Shanghai

Switzerland-based engine technology company, WinGD, has opened a new Global Test Centre in Shanghai to focus on the development of sustainable fuel and combustion research and development. The new facility has been set up in collaboration with China Shipbuilding Power Engineering Institute Co. Ltd.

The engine company revealed that key priorities will be future propulsion technologies, energy management systems, and power generation based on new energy converters. The Global Test Centre will have a pair of two-stroke test engines and several test rigs for the validation of sub-systems, including fuel injection, pumps, and gas admission valves.

Testing will focus on new fuels including methanol and ammonia, and on the further development of WinGD’s low-pressure, dual-fuel technology. An electrical grid will represent ships, and a DC grid laboratory and dynamometers instead of water brakes will provide the infrastructure for tests to demonstrate the efficacy of future hybrid propulsion arrangements.

“The pace at which we need to act as an industry to reach a carbon-free future requires all players to step up with significant commitment,” declared Domink Schneiter, the engine company’s vice president, Research & Development. “The future is a multi-fuel landscape where deep knowledge of the combustion properties of all fuels is required. Our collaboration with our CSSC family of companies allows us to bring the full weight of our shared expertise towards this goal.”