Man Engines Presents Batterypack Solutions for Container Applications, Updates for Gas Engines

Wedoany.com Report-Nov 13, MAN Engines, a leading manufacturer of stationary engines for power and heat generation, is presenting its latest developments for electricity storage in the industrial sector for the first time at EnergyDecentral in Hanover. The focus of the trade fair appearance will be on the MAN BatteryPack.

The MAN BatteryPack is based on nickel-manganese-cobalt batteries (NMC battery) as a variant of the lithium-ion battery. This advanced battery solution is characterized by its focus on cell chemistry, charging cycles, mechanical robustness, vibration resistance and service life.

Because of the modular design of the MAN BatteryPack, customers can flexibly and individually scale the capacity and performance of their energy storage systems for different energy requirements in order to reflect their specific needs.

A MAN BatteryPack generally consists of several battery modules arranged in two to four layers within the housing. Each of these modules contains many battery cells. Different modules can be arranged in different ways to produce different designs of MAN BatteryPacks.

A MAN BatteryPack stores 89 kWh of energy, of which 80 kWh can be used. Due to the three varying shapes—from almost square to elongated—there are a wide range of integration options in different installation spaces. Currently, up to six MAN BatteryPacks can be combined to achieve a total system capacity of up to 534 kWh gross (480 kWh net). Expansion to other packs for higher capacities is being planned.

MAN Truck & Bus—and thus also MAN Engines—considers the entire life cycle of the battery to be a closed cycle up to recycling. The overarching goal in dealing with batteries is to close the material cycle in order to make a major contribution to more sustainable development. To this end, MAN will automatically assess the condition of batteries that can no longer be used for a specific application and then dismantle them.

For further use, reuse in a new application is considered after appropriate reprocessing. After the aforementioned factory repair (2nd-use) of the batteries or in the event that batteries are no longer suitable for stationary buffer storage systems of solar, wind power or biogas plants after their first use or after an accident (2nd-life), recycling comes into play. MAN will implement a closed cycle for battery raw materials with the primary goal of continuously extending the use of batteries and thus resources. Only when this is no longer possible will the valuable, recovered raw materials such as nickel, manganese, cobalt or lithium flow into the production of new batteries.

MAN is part of the Volkswagen Group recycling network with recycling partners throughout Europe.

Further technical development of the E32 series (V12 and V8). Another highlight at EnergyDecentral 2024 is the MAN E3268, which is equipped with a new innovative cylinder head. The V8 gas engine on display is an example of the entire MAN E32 series, consisting of V8 and V12 engines that benefit from technical development. This update to the cylinder head brings numerous improvements and sets new standards in terms of reliability and efficiency. The design changes made to the new cylinder head further increase the robustness of the engine and thus contribute to a further reduction in the total cost of ownership (TCO).

A key feature of this innovation is the introduction of two O-rings in the spark plug sleeve. In contrast to earlier models, these two O-rings have been placed in the cylinder head in a more optimized way, resulting in significant thermal relief and better coolant flow.

This arrangement ensures significantly higher resistance to chemical and thermal influences, for which new O-rings made of particularly resistant material were also chosen. In addition, it is possible optionally to equip the cylinder head with pre-chamber spark plugs, which are becoming increasingly popular in the biogas sector. Pre-chamber spark plugs have a small chamber that is located in front of the main combustion chamber. This enables more efficient ignition of the gas mixture, which leads to improved engine performance and higher efficiency, especially in biogas applications.

Other robustness-enhancing measures include the adaptation of the exhaust valve and valve seat with more wear-resistant materials. In addition, Rotocaps integrated into the new cylinder head contribute to the additional robustness of the engine, which further increases its reliability and longevity. Rotocaps provide uniform thermal stress on the seat rings and valve discs because when the valve is opened, a disc spring is flattened and presses on a ring of balls, causing the valve to rotate slightly with each opening stroke.