Everllence and Hudong-Zhonghua sign an agreement to design a 180,000 cbm dual-fuel LNG carrier, enhancing efficiency and reducing emissions.
Everllence and Shanghai-based, state-owned Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding (Group) Co., Ltd. signed an Engineering Design Agreement (EDA) on June 5, 2026, to develop a 180,000 cubic-metre class LNG carrier equipped with Everllence's DFE+ (Dual-Fuel, Electric+) propulsion system. The agreement pairs one of the world's leading LNG carrier builders with a leading designer and manufacturer of four-stroke engines, positioning both companies to advance more efficient and lower-emission LNG shipping.
The EDA was signed by Yang Chunhua, Technical Centre Deputy Director of Hudong-Zhonghua, and Pan Ke, Head of Sales and Projects, Four-Stroke China, representing Everllence. It builds on an established relationship between the two companies, which have previously collaborated on the delivery of 10 conventional Dual-Fuel Diesel Electric (DFDE) LNG carriers.
The partnership arrives as the shipping industry contends with increasingly strict requirements under the International Maritime Organization's Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII). By developing a hybrid-electric propulsion solution for large LNG carriers, the two companies aim to give ship owners additional options for meeting decarbonisation targets on the path toward the sector's net-zero greenhouse gas ambitions around 2050.
"Decarbonisation is an obvious development trend in the shipping industry," said Song Wei, Chief Technical Engineer of Hudong-Zhonghua. "Ship owners are currently faced with unprecedented challenges and uncertainties as they are fighting to achieve the GHG Net Zero Emissions by 2050. We are very glad to work together with Everllence to develop the hybrid-electric propulsion solution with high efficiency on LNG carriers, which shall provide more options for ship owners."
The agreement reflects a broader shift toward integrated engineering, in which shipyards and engine manufacturers work jointly to unlock efficiency gains that neither could achieve alone.
"Nowadays, individual technology providers can only achieve marginal efficiency improvements," said Dominik Thoma, Global Manager LNG Cargo at Everllence. "Accordingly, for bigger gains, shipyards and engine manufacturers need to work closely together. Hudong-Zhonghua - as a market leader within the construction of LNG carriers - and Everllence - as a market leader in the design and manufacture of four-stroke engines - possess the joint capabilities to bring propulsion systems to the next level."
The DFE+ project marks the next stage in a collaboration that has already produced a fleet of dual-fuel vessels. It reinforces both companies' commitment to developing propulsion technology suited to a shipping industry under mounting regulatory and environmental pressure.
