Finland. Wärtsilä Corporation
| Date of agreement: | 24 Feb 2020 |
|---|---|
| Country: | Finland |
| Customer: | Wärtsilä Corporation |
| Amount in EUR: | EUR 75 million |
| Maturity: | 10 years |
| NACE sector / loan type: | Research and development |
Project
The loan will finance Wärtsilä’s power supply R&D investments for the period 2019–2021.
The company’s R&D project focuses on the marine and energy businesses. It has three main themes: rationalising the company’s engine portfolio, fostering sustainable and smart shipping as well as enabling the transition to a 100% renewable energy future.
During 2019–2021, Wärtsilä’s investments in power supply R&D amount to an average of EUR 109 million per year.
Wärtsilä Corporation provides smart technologies and complete lifecycle solutions for the marine and energy markets. The company has approximately 19,000 employees, and operates in over 200 locations in more than 80 countries around the world.
Fulfilment of NIB's mandate
Productivity:
The majority of Wärtsilä’s R&D activities involve the development of power supply solutions for the shipping industry and energy sector.
The main projects include new product types for both large and small bore engine platforms and the expansion of the company’s high speed engine portfolio. The investments will help to provide intelligent solutions to support low-and unmanned operations, increase the use of alternative fuels and improve fuel flexibility as well as reduce manufacturing and lifecycle costs.
Development of the company’s combined heat and power (CHP) applications focuses on improving the efficiency and reducing the operational costs of gas engines. The company expects the engines to have an increasing demand for a stand-alone flexible CHP, base load and peak load solutions, supporting intermittent production from renewable resources.
Wärtsilä estimates that by 2021, the new engine products released after 2016, including the engines developed with this R&D programme, will account for almost 40% of the total megawatts (MW) of engines sold.
R&D is the main driver of productivity growth, and its impacts are widely distributed through the transfer of skills and knowledge in labour markets. Due to the strong industrial engineering sector in the Nordic-Baltic region, the likelihood of such outcome is relatively high.
Expected productivity impact of the project:
- Increase in power supply R&D investments: 2%
- R&D to sales ratio: 3.1
- Share of new products of total sales: 40% of total MW sold
- R&D staff (full-time equivalent): 576
Environment:
The main driver for the R&D in the marine business is the decarbonisation of shipping. Wärtsilä’s R&D is focusing on developing new engines and converting existing engines to use alternative low-carbon fuels.
In the energy business, Wärtsilä’s R&D programme focuses on energy transition. The aim is to develop efficient peak applications that respond quickly in situations where balancing power for renewable generation is required and to test their integration with battery systems.
R&D investments contribute to green shipping and renewable energy transition.
Sustainability summary
Wärtsilä’s R&D investments 2019–2021 are not assessed to have any significant negative environmental or social impacts.
Wärtsilä is a member of the Getting to Zero Coalition launched in September 2019. The coalition is committed to getting commercially viable deep sea zero emission vessels powered by zero emission fuels into operation by 2030.
