THE YACHT OF YOUR DREAMS WITH A MAN ENGINE

WHAT UNITES TRUCKS, BUSES AND YACHTS

Acceleration capacity, fuel consumption, reliability: customer requirements in the yacht segment are high. MAN Engines meets them by fully exploiting the infrastructure at the MAN Truck & Bus Engine Competence Centre in Nuremberg. “MAN’s size and that of the Volkswagen Group benefit us in the development of marine engines – from procurement to production to sales. A complex area like materials science, which helps us with material resilience tests, would simply be unaffordable given the comparatively small number of marine engines we produce”, Reiner Rößner states. Proven engine technology from the commercial vehicle division benefits MAN Engines in the development of its marine engines. Professional exchange with colleagues from the commercial vehicle division is very important to the marine specialists. “We have for instance benefited from their experience in the after-treatment of exhaust gases”, Werner Kübler reports. “Truck engines were quite clearly the forerunners in this regard. The same applies to consumption optimisation by means of common rail injection.”

This exchange of knowledge also pays off in reverse: in addition to marine engines, MAN Engines also develops industrial off-road engines for vehicles like airport buses, combine harvesters and locomotives. This expertise also benefits the development of trucks and buses. “We come across a lot of extreme applications in our division: yacht engines have to provide massive peak performance, power generation engines have to achieve long running times, and combine harvester engines have to cope with challenging environmental conditions, including huge volumes of dirt and dust. We’re constantly testing the limits of their endurance. Anyone dealing with such extremes also gains a broad spectrum of knowledge”, is how Reiner Rößner describes this special synergy.

CLEAN MARINE ENGINES IN TESTING

The mountain peaks of the Alps are glowing red in the evening sun at Lake Constance in southern Germany. The catamaran “Constanze” is making its way across the lake from Friedrichshafen to Constance. The ferry belonging to Katamaran-Reederei Bodensee shuttles back and forth on this route every hour from morning to evening. This catamaran has a special significance for MAN Engines, as Werner Kübler reveals: “In 2019, the ship was equipped with two new MAN D2676 drive engines along with SCR catalytic converters in a completely new exhaust system. In this case our engines have to prove themselves under the continuous demand of ferry operations, both in terms of reliability and ease of maintenance as well as fuel consumption and emissions.” Initial findings from field testing indicate that the engine components from MAN are paying off: thanks to them, the Constanze is emitting significantly fewer nitrogen oxides than comparable ships and could become the first German ship to meet the EU stage V emission standard with an engine supplied directly by an engine manufacturer.

The matter of emissions and after-treatment of exhaust gases is of equal importance to yacht operators as it is to the shipyards. That's why MAN Engines always provides the latest emission certificates for its yacht engines. “We’ve been offering our customers engines in the strict China II emission standard for over a year before it came into force. This gives us an advantage over the competition and is a plus for the environment”, Kübler maintains. Battery-powered drives are becoming increasingly important in the MAN Group as part of its energy transformation, so MAN Engines is also drawing on technologies and know-how in this area. In the near future, MAN Engines will also offer solutions with clear customer benefits in terms of driving and idling without noise and exhaust emissions, reduced consumption and improved performance.

Reiner Rößner is certain we won’t see a fully electric yacht any time soon: “The amount of energy to be carried on-board for the required ranges would make the boat too heavy and cost more than the entire vessel.” Nevertheless, the technology offers many advantages in relation to performance improvements, but also in terms of comfort and efficiency on yachts and working boats.

YACHT ENGINES: A PASSIONATE BUSINESS

Staying ahead of the multifaceted technological competition in the future – Werner Kübler sees this as the challenge that keeps the yacht engine market from becoming boring. “Building top-of-the-range marine engines is and moreover remains an absolute highlight for everyone at MAN Engines. Each yacht is something special”, he adds. Reiner Rößner has a similar view: “The yacht engine sector swings between the poles of high-tech and lifestyle. This makes it simultaneously demanding and emotional. It’s very easy to fall in love with this business.”