The Saverys family’s CMB.Tech venture has signed a deal with WinGD to develop the first zero-carbon ammonia engines for large bulkers.

The Belgian clean shipping company called the agreement with the Swiss engine manufacturer a “ground-breaking collaboration”.

The idea is to install the dual-fuel, two-stroke X72DF systems on parent shipowner CMB’s fleet of 10 210,000-dwt newcastlemaxes on order at Qingdao Beihai Shipbuilding Heavy Industry in China for delivery in 2025 and 2026

CMB.Tech said it has “significant insight into alternative fuels and builds, designs, owns and operates large marine and industrial applications that run on hydrogen and ammonia”.

Both sides believe ammonia can play a significant role in decarbonising shipping.

The newbuildings will be the first of their kind to use this technology and will be proof that large seagoing vessels can be powered by zero-carbon fuels, they added.

CMB chief executive Alexander Saverys said: “We believe that ammonia is the most promising zero-carbon fuel for deepsea vessels.

“Our intention is to have dual-fuel ammonia-diesel engines on our dry bulk vessels, container vessels and chemical tankers.”

The new systems will be based on WinGD’s X92-B engine.

The development project is one of several projects WinGD is carrying out with shipowners and engine builders to ensure that dual-fuel ammonia two-stroke engines will be available.

WinGD CEO Klaus Heim said: “This project is a significant step in accelerating our ammonia technology road map for a zero-carbon future.

“Having CMB.Tech’s input into the engine development will be invaluable, given their alternative fuel expertise and their ship operator’s perspective on how an engine concept is implemented and ultimately operated.”

CMB owns and operates 150 bulkers, container ships, chemical tankers and crew transfer vessels.

The newcastlemax order stretches to 20 ships after a further 10 were ordered in November for $640m.

In the original order, eight vessels were contracted at $61m each in 2021, and two more last March for $66m each.