WinGD, a Swiss marine power company, has announced that it would deliver six container vessels with X-DF-M methanol-fuelled engines to Yangzijiang Shipbuilding in China.

The 9,000 TEU vessels will each be powered by an X82DF-M engine built by HD Hyundai Heavy Industries’ Engine & Machinery Division (HHI-EMD), to be delivered in August 2025.

The new deal increases WinGD’s methanol engine orders into the 82-bore size and offers possibilities for more engines.

Volkmar Galke, Director Sales, WinGD, said: “This order confirms that our X-DF-M engines will be in service long before green methanol is widely available and before regulatory requirements come into force, giving operators time to build experience with the new fuel and engines.

“We are delighted that one of the biggest and most influential container lines has also invested in our X-DF-M technology, sending a strong signal to all operators currently making their own alternative fuel decisions.”

The X-DF-M engines’ combustion theory and engine architecture are based on WinGD’s newest X-Engines, which are reportedly reinforced with high-pressure methanol injection.

X-DF-M engines provide comparable performance to X-Engines in both methanol and diesel modes, as well as reduced pilot fuel needs achieved by carefully regulated common rail injection and NOx Tier III compliance in both modes with selective catalytic reduction.

As soon as X-DF-M engines in the appropriate bore sizes become available, the new engine idea will be retrofittable to the X-Engine series.

The new vessel series is scheduled to begin service in 2026 and 2027.

In September, WinGD received the first Approval in Principle (AiP) for ammonia-fuelled two-stroke engines, granted by science company Lloyd’s Register (LR).