Milestone For MTU Series 4000 Natural Gas Engines

Rolls-Royce said its 3000^th Series 4000 natural gas engine has rolled off the production line.

The Series 4000 has been part of the company’s product portfolio since October 2004. The 3000^th gas genset will be delivered to VPower Group, a leading system integrator in the power generation sector, for a customer project in Myanmar.

MTU Series 4000 gas engines are produced at Rolls-Royce’s plant in Friedrichshafen, Germany, and subsequently built into complete systems at its Augsburg facility.

“Here in Augsburg, the majority of our people work on the Series 4000 now – not just in production, but on R&D activity as well,” said Bernhard Bächle, head of the Augsburg facility. “Our engineers are continuously working on improving the efficiency and performance of the system.”

The array of applications in which gas systems are used ranges from pure power generation to combined heat and power (CHP) co-generation, where the system’s waste heat is also used alongside the electrical power output, putting overall efficiencies of 90%-plus within reach.

“Production of the 3000^th gas genset is a symbolic milestone for us. In particular, the growing demand we’ve seen over the past five years shows that our products meet our customers’ exacting requirements head-on,” said Andreas Görtz, vice president, Power Generation at Rolls-Royce Power Systems Division. The company’s first Series 4000 test gas engine commenced operation in a CHP plant at MTU’s Plant 2 in Friedrichshafen back in 2003. The Series 4000 gas engine went into full production in 2004.

In the early years, Rolls-Royce said the natural gas Series 4000 enjoyed major success on the market in greenhouse nurseries, especially in the Benelux countries.

“In Germany, gas engine systems are a recurring feature in orders from municipal utilities, being used as CHP plants to supply power and heat to industrial operations. MTU gas engine systems are now in operation in 48 countries around the world,” said Carsten Baumgarten, who leads the development of the series.

The current mark-4 version of the Series 4000 gas engine can be supplied as a natural gas, biogas or special gas engine with 8, 12, 16 or 20 cylinders, covering a power range from 800 to 2600 kW and running for up to 8000 hours per year, depending on the application.

Preferences in the power generation market are trending towards sustainable power supplies, the company said.

“Gas engines are increasingly in demand to compensate for the natural volatility of solar and wind power by generating what is referred to as load-balancing power and also for decentralized energy generation in emerging markets,” Görtz said. “As one of the core elements of our microgrids – autonomous, decentralized power grids – gas systems can make a significant contribution to the move towards renewable energies.”