Finland’s Wärtsilä and its compatriot gas company Gasum signed a joint cooperation agreement aimed at developing the use, distribution, and service solutions for natural gas in marine applications on August 29.
The development work regarding liquefied natural gas (LNG) for marine applications will also involve the work of Gasum’s subsidiary Scandinavian LNG provider Skangas.
The project will be divided into work streams, covering areas such as Smart Power Generation, LNG and liquefied biogas (LBG), gas as a marine fuel, operations & maintenance, and biogas.
The work will focus on increasing sales through business development cooperation, and building an LNG infrastructure in places where gas is currently not available, as well as the development of liquefied biogas (LBG) markets.
“This agreement with Gasum will help speed the transition to gas fuel and advance environmental sustainability,” Wärtsilä President and CEO, Jaakko Eskola, said.
Natural gas fuel is increasingly being used for marine engines and in power plant generators, primarily for reasons of environmental compliance as exhaust emissions from gas fuelled engines are notably lower than from diesel and coal-fired prime movers.