Technology
In an effort to
build a sustainable world, diesel engine vehicles are widespread as a means to
keep the earth clean in Europe and electric vehicles are regarded as the
next-generation vehicles in Japan. Unlike in Japan that is surrounded by the
sea, it is supposedly not easy to construct a network of charging stations in
Europe where countries are connected by land. Dr. Rudolf Diesel of Germany
invented the concept of diesel engine in 1892, and MAN of Germany put it into
practical use and built a 4-ton truck powered by a diesel engine in 1923. But
it is Japan’s Yanmar that applied diesel engine to industrial purposes. The
company built a small diesel engine for industry and agriculture in 1933 for
the first time in the world.
Six automakers are
the leading producers of diesel engines. However, Japan’s Kubota is the leading
company in the industrial fields other than automobile production. Industrial
diesel engines are strong and tolerant of continuous operation. Kubota’s diesel
engine cleared the fourth gas emission standards enacted this year and obtained
the certification from the State of California on July 1 last year, about one
year ahead of the enactment. This is the world’s first certification of this
kind given to an engine with a replacement of less than 4,000 cc. Kubota’s
technology combined the multistage and high pressure fuel injection, electronic
control, and the filer to strain particulate matters. It is characterized by
the automatic regeneration function that increases combustion temperature to
burn out particulate matters before they clog the filter.
Low-speed diesel
engines designed by MAN account for 70% of the world market of diesel engines
for oil tankers and container vessels. To compete with MAN, Japanese makers
focused on other industrial fields, and increased fuel efficiency and improved
the mechanism of emission gas purification. Hitachi Zosen installed the
processing equipment that dissolves NOx into water and nitrogen using catalyst
and urea water just before the supercharger. This technology enabled the
company to clear the third regulation set by the International Maritime
Organization (IMO) for the first time in the world. It attracts wide attention
worldwide, and the Port of Vancouver reportedly proposed a discount on port
dues of ships featured by Hitachi’s technology.
Likewise, low-speed
diesel engines designed and built by Mitsui Engineering and Shipbuilding enjoy
a high popularity because they are reliable and trouble-free, though they are
higher in price than competitive products. In fact, ships powered by the diesel
engine built by the company are traded high in the secondhand ship market.
According to the IMO, CO2 emissions from marine transport accounts for about 3%
of total CO2 emissions of the world. The third regulation stipulates that NOx
emitted from ships to be built after 2016 should be decreased by 80% from the
level in 2010.
European companies
are dominant in the market of diesel engines for vehicles. Japanese companies
avoid the direct competition with European companies and establish the presence
in other industrial markets including shipbuilding. This is an excellent idea
from the strategic point of view.
Yanmar's tiller built in 1967 is still in active service
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