He continues; “These component upgrades require us to only change the rotating components of the turbocharger with newly developed ones, which means the required downtime and the complexity of the implementation is the same as for a standard service. Existing casings can be reused, which is not only commercially beneficial but also contributes to a sustainable use of the turbocharger over its lifecycle.”
Furthermore, in another important initiative, Accelleron has been working to get its turbocharger upgrade portfolio ready for future fuels and related engine modifications, to boost decarbonization and foster sustainability. Bosse says: “The good news is our turbocharger technology is ready to cope with future fuels like methanol, bio-diesel and even ammonia. Since the use of these fuels will come at an additional cost for the operator, we clearly see a trend towards more upgrade solutions in the market, even if these solutions provide ‘only’ a few percentage points of fuel efficiency gain.”
Accelleron reports that it has carried out a number of interesting upgrades and retrofit projects over the last year including one with an engine builder partner involving a two-stroke engine retrofit. According to Bosse: “In this case a radical derating is applied to the engine by significantly reducing the engine bore size, which also requires retrofitting the turbocharger. This generates up to a 15% improvement in engine efficiency. Even more importantly, it reduces the ship’s Carbon Intensity Index (Cll) and allows the operator to extend Cll compliance by three to five years, Such projects are new in the market and may be seen more widely in the near future.”
Reflecting on business over the past year, Bosse says that service activity has picked up again with the pandemic fading, with the exception of the cruise market segment, which is still “lagging behind”. However, he adds: “The availability of spare parts and service personnel has become even more important and can be seen as a clear differentiator among market players.”
To provide greater stability and predictability to customers, Accelleron has signed several new long-term service agreements recently. An example is its latest Turbo MarineCare agreement, which was signed with AMCL in Hong Kong earlier this year.
Accelleron will provide fixed-price turbocharger servicing for five vessels belonging to the company over an initial five-year period and the agreement covers servicing for 10 A175-L turbochargers on the AMCL operated vessels. AMCL will also gain access to Accelleron’s intuitive digital platform, Loreka which provides access to fleet-wide turbocharger health indicators with accompanying advisories provided by in-house experts. Furthermore. AMCL will have a single point of contact at Accelleron who will co-ordinate all maintenance activities, with only one purchase order and invoice issued for each servicing event, thereby significantly reducing the administrative burden for the shipowner.