Cleaner, Fuel-Flexible Marine Engines That Cut Ship Emissions to Near Zero

Imagine your car could seamlessly switch between petrol, diesel, and natural gas — and pollute almost nothing regardless of fuel. That's what HERCULES-2 did for massive ship engines. A team of 33 partners across Europe, led by engine giants MAN and Wärtsilä, built and tested real prototypes that let large marine engines burn different fuels, last longer, and meet the toughest pollution rules. They even tested exhaust-cleaning systems on actual ship engines in the lab.

What needed solving

Shipping companies face increasingly strict emission regulations (IMO Tier III, SOx limits in ECAs) while fuel markets are volatile and unpredictable. Ship operators need engines that can switch between conventional and alternative fuels without costly refits, while keeping emissions near zero. Current marine engines are typically locked to a single fuel type, making fleet operators vulnerable to price spikes and regulatory penalties.

What was built

The project delivered full-scale prototypes and shipboard demonstrators across 4 technology areas: fuel-flexible engines that switch between fuel types, new high-temperature materials for engine components, adaptive control systems that maintain performance over an engine's lifetime, and integrated exhaust aftertreatment for near-zero emissions. Specific deliverables include an optimized SCR injection system with sensor-based feedback control and a prototype SCR/mixer configuration validated on a high-speed marine engine test bed.

Who needs this

Who can put this to work

Quick answers

Who built it

This is a heavyweight industrial consortium. With 33 partners across 11 countries and 63% of the budget held by industry, this is not an academic exercise — it's an industry-driven development programme. The two anchor partners are MAN and Wärtsilä, which together dominate the global large marine engine market. The consortium includes 11 industrial partners alongside 17 universities and 5 research institutes, giving it both manufacturing muscle and deep R&D capability. The 11-country spread (AT, CH, DE, DK, EL, ES, FI, IT, NL, SE, UK) covers Europe's major maritime nations. For a business looking to access this technology, the direct involvement of the world's top engine OEMs means the path from prototype to product is shorter than with most research projects.

• ETHNICON METSOVION POLYTECHNIONCoordinator · EL
• LINKOPINGS UNIVERSITETparticipant · SE
• TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITAET WIENparticipant · AT
• VAASAN YLIOPISTOparticipant · FI
• WinGD AGparticipant · CH
• LUNDS UNIVERSITETparticipant · SE
• THE UNIVERSITY OF SHEFFIELDparticipant · UK
• MAX-PLANCK-INSTITUT FUR NACHHALTIGE MATERIALIEN GMBHparticipant · DE
• WARTSILA FINLAND OYparticipant · FI
• FACHHOCHSCHULE NORDWESTSCHWEIZ FHNWparticipant · CH
• TEKNOLOGIAN TUTKIMUSKESKUS VTT OYparticipant · FI
• TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITAET MUENCHENparticipant · DE
• HOCHSCHULE OFFENBURGparticipant · DE
• WARTSILA NETHERLANDS BVparticipant · NL
• AALTO KORKEAKOULUSAATIO SRparticipant · FI
• UNIVERSITAET BREMENparticipant · DE
• KARLSRUHER INSTITUT FUER TECHNOLOGIEparticipant · DE
• BUNDESANSTALT FUER MATERIALFORSCHUNG UND -PRUEFUNGparticipant · DE
• EIDGENOESSISCHE TECHNISCHE HOCHSCHULE ZUERICHparticipant · CH
• DANMARKS TEKNISKE UNIVERSITETparticipant · DK
• POLITECNICO DI MILANOparticipant · IT
• PAUL SCHERRER INSTITUTparticipant · CH
• DINEX ECOCAT OYparticipant · FI
• EVERLLENCE SEparticipant · DE
• JOHNSON MATTHEY PLCparticipant · UK
• UNIVERSITA DEL SALENTOparticipant · IT
• GOTTFRIED WILHELM LEIBNIZ UNIVERSITAET HANNOVERparticipant · DE
• WARTSILA IBERICA SAparticipant · ES