Dual fuel engine: Key market research findings
- APAC dominates the market geographically
- Marine vertical accounts for a majority of the market’s revenue
- Key vendors – Caterpillar, Cummins, Kubota, MAN Diesel & Turbo, and Wärtsilä
Technavio’s market research analysts predict the global market for dual fuel engines to grow at a CAGR of more than 2% between 2016 and 2020. The growth of this market can be accredited to the gradual conversion of conventional engines to dual fuel engines. These modifications are easy to apply and operate, and such conversions offer customers the advantage of a dual fuel engine at low cost. Dual fuel systems can be easily uninstalled, and the engine can be restored back to its initial condition. The ease of conversion stems from the fact that major engine characteristics such as engine compression ratios, cylinder heads, and basic operations remain the same in both cases. By 2020, APAC will dominate over the global dual fuel engine market by accounting for almost 42% of the overall market share. The presence of both the prominent end-user industries, namely marine and power generation, in the region is expected to contribute to the growth of the dual fuel engine market in APAC in the coming years.
The new market research report from Technavio presents a breakdown and analysis of the dual fuel engine segments based on the end-user.
“The use of ammonia gas as a substitute for natural gas in dual fuel engines is becoming popular in the market. A relatively novel idea, the use of ammonia gas as a fuel enables a significant reduction in CO₂, NOx, and PM emission levels. Ammonia possesses high levels of resistance to pre-ignition and enhanced power output compared to gasoline and diesel. Both these properties of ammonia when combined provide significantly high engine efficiency. This is prompting vendors to design and develop engines that can take advantage of ammonia as a fuel source,” says Bharath Kanniappan, Lead Analyst, Industrial Automation, Technavio Research.
The marine end-user segment is likely to account for more than 62% of the overall market revenue by 2020and will continue its dominance over the global dual fuel engine market. Natural gas as a marine fuel provides an environment-friendly solution for four-stroke engines. It also ensures the profitability of the operation. Dual fuel engines run on both diesel and natural gas, allowing marine vessels to avail all the benefits of natural gas with in-built redundancy and flexibility.
The key vendors in the global duel fuel engine market include Caterpillar, Cummins, Kubota, MAN Diesel & Turbo, and Wärtsilä. The market is characterized by the presence of major internationally established players and regional vendors. The market is moderately fragmented and is clearly dominated by the large international dual fuel engine manufacturers. This highly capital-intensive market poses a stiff challenge to the local players. International manufacturers are increasing their global presence, and the small regional players find it difficult to compete with them in terms of product quality, features, functionalities, and services. In the coming years, this market will witness the introduction of several products with new features and technologies. This will likely intensify the level of competition among vendors in the coming years.
A more detailed analysis is available in the Technavio report, Global Dual Fuel Engine Market 2016-2020.
We can customize reports by other regions and specific segments upon request.
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