Vahterus PSHE Solutions for Alternative Fuels

Frontrunners in Ammonia

With over 30 years of experience with ammonia vaporisers and condensers from the refrigeration industry, where ammonia is used as key natural refrigerant, Vahterus has extensive references of working with the substance both in the lab and on the field. We deliver over 1000 heat exchangers annually to ammonia applications, and although these are mostly land based refrigeration systems at the moment we expect the growing demand to come, especially from the marine sector.

The fully welded Plate & Shell Heat Exchanger (PSHE) technology, invented by Vahterus, offers a uniquely impressive safety record due to the total containment. One of the driving factors for the utilisation of PSHE is the high amount of safety inherent within our solutions. Our expertise has now been transformed into supporting the global energy transition, with first deliveries to ammonia marine fuel gas systems already underway with the support of a large reference list of heat exchanger solution deliveries and ongoing orders to ammonia cargo systems.

There is No Planet B for The Next Generation

Global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions continue to increase year by year despite a wider consciousness about the effects related to climate change and pollution. International shipping is playing a vital role and is responsible for close to 3% of global CO2 emissions. During 2023, the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) made further changes to speed up the pathway for emission reduction. The ambitious target is to be net zero (GHG emissions) by 2050. IMO is not the only party setting these additional rules to mitigate the emissions, there is also a national and continent wide approach i.e. FuelEU maritime coming into force at the start of 2025 in the EU, afterwards CO2 equivalent tons will have an assigned monetary value.

For the owners and operators, their vision about the future is cloudy – a lot of uncertainties are to cope with regarding new and upcoming regulations. There is not a clear single fuel or technology to tackle emission reductions right now. However, there are multiple possible solutions centered around a handful of alternative fuels that could provide a path forward. The future will show which ones will be more feasible than others.

LNG as an Intermediate Step

To help shipbuilders and owners meet these new standards, Vahterus has been providing hundreds of heat exchanger solutions for LNG Evaporation, Gas condensing and subcooling, BOG systems, gas carrier cargo handling and even VOC systems. Approximately half of all oceangoing LNG or DualFuel vessels currently in service, have Vahterus heat exchangers installed.

Scale is no issue; Vahterus has provided heat exchangers from small harbour tugboats to massive cargo vessels along with some of the world's largest cruise vessels and LNG terminals. With a round plate and a welded construction, the Vahterus original Plate & Shell Heat Exchanger is well suited for cryogenic applications. The small footprint of the Vahterus PSHE helps to optimise the layout on board a vessel where space is always at a premium. This is also a substantial advantage in methanol based systems, where many customers have chosen Vahterus for their vessels in anticipation of increased green methanol production.

To read more about Vahterus solutions in LNG applications, please download our Hot & Cold Magazine below.

Discuss with Our Heat Exchanger Experts Directly

Interested in embarking on a revolutionary journey together with us? We have a history of long-lasting partnerships with industry leaders who trust both our products' and peoples' excellence and innovation. If there is anything you would like to discuss with us please get in touch and we will be happy to collaborate.