Not long ago, China's first 10,000-ton methanol/diesel dual-fuel integrated electric propulsion inland bulk carrier "GuonengYangjiang 01" launched trial, through the main engine power, main engine and shafting operation, speed measurement test, data acquisition and monitoring storage function, course stability, single generator full load operation test and a series of project tests, successfully completed the trial.
 
 "The core power of the ship is the methanol/diesel dual-fuel engine developed by our company." Said Gao Xianli, deputy chief engineer of Zibo Power Co., LTD., this trial success not only made it the first company in the country to realize the industrial application of methanol/diesel dual-fuel engine, but also opened up a new way for the green transformation of our country's inland river shipping.
 
 Behind a success, is often inseparable from the firm choice and unremitting struggle. Gao Xianli introduced that Zichai began to respond to the national environmental protection policy as early as 2009, and began to study low carbon and zero carbon fuel technology. Faced with the challenge that diesel engine technology has reached its limit and the space for fuel consumption reduction is limited, they decided to seek breakthroughs in alternative fuels.
 
 In 2012, with the proposal of the national "double carbon" strategy, Zichai and Shandong University jointly declared and undertook the implementation of the national high-tech ship research project - research and development of low-power Marine LNG/ diesel dual-fuel engine, becoming the first enterprise in the industry to undertake the implementation of Marine LNG/ diesel dual-fuel engine project approved by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. In 2017, the project successfully passed the national final acceptance, laying a solid foundation for the green development of Zichai.
 
 In 2018, Zichai once again joined hands with Tianjin University to develop methanol/diesel dual-fuel engines, and finally achieved an average replacement rate of 50% for methanol, and the highest replacement rate can reach 70%, and obtained the certification of China Classification Society at the end of 2023, officially moving toward industrialization. Recently, with the first four engines launched on the ship in Wuhan, the green results of Zichai have been applied in practice.
 
 However, the green development of Zichai has not stopped. In order to maintain the leading position in the industry, they continue to explore new technologies, and are currently cooperating with relevant domestic universities to carry out research and development of more than 90% high substitution rate methanol dual-fuel engines, ammonia fuel engines and hybrid engines. In the field of low/zero carbon engine research and development and industrial application, Zichai has been at the forefront of the industry.
 
 "For professional research and development teams, sometimes a small transformation can achieve a technological improvement. For example, although methanol has obvious advantages, it is not easy to ignite at low temperatures. In response to this problem, we have carried out a special design transformation of the engine, first using diesel fuel, and then spraying methanol, you can realize the methanol alternative. For us, if we want to realize the industrialization of technology, the most difficult is the forensics stage." Liu Yi, director of the technical center of Zichai Machinery Co., LTD., a subsidiary of Zichai, told reporters that if you want to pass the certification of the China Classification Society to achieve launching and loading, the engine must meet the national pollutant emission standards, which requires deterioration tests to determine whether the engine can still maintain emissions after continuous operation for 10,000 hours.
 
 Why the suffering, and how to judge the emissions after 10,000 hours?
 
 Following the direction of Liu Yi's fingers, the reporter saw an operating engine next to several staff members who were focusing on inspecting the machine. Staff member Niu Zhijian told reporters: "We are conducting forensic experiments on the engine on the platform, and the whole process needs to last 2,500 hours." During this period, we will conduct seven emissions tests and use the combined data from these seven tests to calculate the results of 10,000 hours of operation." He also mentioned that the power of Marine engines is usually large, so the experiment process not only needs to consume hundreds of tons of fuel, but also the staff must work 24 hours a day to ensure the normal operation of the machine and the data is accurate and effective.
 
 It is worth mentioning that in the list of "One enterprise one technology" R&D centers recently announced by the Shandong Provincial Department of Industry and Information Technology, the technology center was selected with the key core technology of low/zero carbon Marine engine technology of methanol/diesel dual fuel engine. Liu Yi proudly said that the 200 Marine diesel engine, 230 Marine diesel engine and other types of engines independently developed by the technology center have been sold to many countries and regions in Southeast Asia and Africa.
 
 In the next step, the technology center will continue to focus on the research of low/zero carbon energy engine power system, and is committed to further optimization of the existing diesel engine in fuel consumption, heat energy and other aspects, continue to promote the enterprise to realize the road of green development, and also make contribution for our country's energy saving and carbon reduction environmental protection policy.