MAN PrimeServ, MAN Energy Solutions’ after-sales brand, has announced that it is now offering its customers the opportunity to retrofit older MAN 48/60 marine and power-plant engines to state-of-the-art MAN 51/60 types as part of its new ‘lifecycle upgrade’ offering. The upgrade enables customers to prepare older engines already in service for future, climate-neutral operation. Converted engines will effectively be equivalent technically to newly built MAN 51/60 units and, as a result, achieve significant savings in fuel consumption, CO2 and pollutant emissions, and increase reliability. As a further option, newly converted engines can be upgraded for operation on synthetic fuels for a low premium.

Stefan Eefting, Senior Vice President and Head of MAN PrimeServ Germany, said: “With this lifecycle upgrade, we offer customers the opportunity not only to completely overhaul their old engines but also to upgrade them to the latest engine technology at the same time. The upgrade simultaneously prepares the engines for future operation with climate-neutral fuels without having to change the fuel type they use at this stage. This is because the 51/60 engine type enables further conversion to alternative fuels, making it a future-proof investment.”

Lifecycle upgrade

MAN 48/60 engine types (variant A or B) already in operation, and which have more than 80,000 operating hours, are particularly suitable for a lifecycle upgrade. Post-upgrade, the engine becomes as reliable as a new MAN 51/60 engine, while future conversion to dual-fuel operation is straightforward as 80% of all necessary adjustments are already performed during the lifecycle upgrade.

Marcel Lodder, Sales Manager at MAN PrimeServ and initiator of the lifecycle upgrade concept, said: “Depending on the design of the engine – whether L or V – and the number of cylinders involved, a lifecycle upgrade can be carried out within 25 to 45 days – only about 30% longer than the time required for major maintenance. Due to the fuel and lube-oil savings from the upgrade and the elimination of 'ageing effects', we expect our customers to see a return on their investment within one-and-a-half to four years.”

MAN Energy Solutions reports that calculations based on an exemplary business case have shown that upgrading a 9L48/60 engine to a 9L51/60 type can save around 500 tons of fuel and 25 tons of lubricating oil per annum – based on an annual operating time of 6,000 hours under full load – thus achieving a significant improvement in efficiency.

First successful completion

MAN PrimeServ has already successfully completed the first lifecycle upgrade for a southern European customer, converting an MAN 18V48/60A power-plant engine with over 100,000 operating hours to a modern MAN 18V51/60 unit. Indeed, PrimeServ will implement a further five lifecycle upgrades for the same customer by spring 2023. In addition, another customer recently ordered a lifecycle upgrade for an MAN 9L48/60A to a 9L51/60 type at a power plant on a Caribbean island.