Danish pump specialist Svanehøj has reported that soaring demand for LNG-fuelled newbuilds last year resulted in a four-fold increase in sales of fuel pump solutions, with further steep growth forecast.
The firm saw demand for LNG dual-fuel shipbuilding boost its order intake to almost US$122 million, a 50 per cent increase over the previous record set in 2014.
“We see a significant increase in orders of fuel pump systems for LNG-fuelled boxships, cruise ships and PCTC vessels. Furthermore, we have received a very large number of orders for LPG carriers, where we supply pump systems for both cargo and fuel,” Søren Kringelholt Nielsen, CEO of the firm commented.
Shipbuilding demand
Svanehøj manufactures a variety of pump solutions for LNG-fuelled vessels and signed major contracts with Samsung Heavy Industries and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering last year. These agreements involved LNG fuel pump systems for 22 Ultra Large Container Vessels and Kringelholt predicts they are the first of many.
“We see clear indications that many of the ships to be built in the coming years will be built to run on LNG. Therefore, we expect further growth in this segment,” Nielsen notes.
Headquartered near Aalborg in the north of Denmark, Svanehøj has a history as a pump maker that stretches back almost a century and today specializes in designing multi-gas pumping systems for sustainable solutions.
Doubling turnover
This year, the firm launched a new strategy with a target to double its turnover to US$152 million by 2026. In addition to fuel pumps for LNG, LPG, and future synthetic e-fuels, the firm also sees great potential in developing pump solutions for the infrastructure to be built around Power-to-X and carbon capture and storage (CCS).
“A market for new fuel types will emerge, driven by the large-scale investments in Power-to-X,” Nielsen comments. “We have already taken this into account with our fuel pump, which is fully compatible with e-fuels such as green ammonia and methanol. In this way, we address shipowners' uncertainty with a future-proof pump solution. Regardless of the propellant.”
The firm recently signed a contract with a Fuel Gas Supply System (FGSS) integrator in Japan to deliver fuel pumps for six LNG-fuelled Pure Care and Truck Carriers. The FGSS will install the systems on behalf of NYK, as part of the shipping lines strategy to switch to LNG fuel as a bridge solution until future zero-emission ships can be realised.
