Methanol Fuel Retrofit Developed for Inland and Coastal Marine

A dual fuel combustion system developed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in collaboration with Caterpillar Inc. addresses the challenge of methanol ignition in diesel engines, with clear relevance for inland and coastal marine vessels.

Methanol is typically produced from natural gas, an abundant domestic resource, and converting it into a liquid allows easier storage and handling. However, methanol does not ignite easily, creating a barrier for vessels that rely on compression-ignition diesel engines.

ORNL’s approach pairs methanol with a small amount of diesel used as a pilot fuel to start combustion, enabling methanol dual fuel operation across a much wider range of conditions.

“This system allows marine engines to use more than 75 percent methanol under a wide range of power levels and without reducing performance,” said ORNL’s Derek Splitter, project lead for the Cooperative Research and Development Agreement with Caterpillar.

Although deployment would require engine updates, the method avoids a full redesign and allows the engine to operate on either diesel or dual-fuel methanol.