The MARPOWER project, funded by the European Union, aims to develop a cutting-edge gas turbine-based energy conversion system for electricity generation and cogeneration aboard marine vessels. This system is designed to increase energy efficiency, reduce fuel consumption, and support the use of alternative fuels, positioning it as a key innovation for the maritime industry.
Bringing together a highly multidisciplinary consortium of 11 expert entities, the project focuses on key areas such as turbomachinery, alternative fuels and combustion, energy conversion, gas turbines, bearing systems, heat recovery, digital twins, shipbuilding, and project consulting.
A legacy of innovation in heat recovery and marine boilers
Alfa Laval Aalborg Oy is the Finnish subsidiary of the Swedish Alfa Laval Group, a global leader in heat transfer, separation, and fluid handling. The company designs and delivers high-performance waste heat recovery boiler systems and fired boilers for cruise ships, ferries, offshore applications, and land-based power plants and process industries.
With a history that dates to 1964 at the Uusikaupunki shipyard in Finland, Alfa Laval Aalborg has evolved through multiple acquisitions, including by Finnyards and Danish Aalborg Industries A/S, before becoming part of Alfa Laval in 2011. Today, the company maintains its global leadership through comprehensive certification, deep industry expertise, and a robust service network.
The company’s technological reach is extensive. Since 1995, more than 1,600 boilers have been delivered to land-based power plants, providing over 5.1 GW of waste heat recovery capacity. This equates to an annual reduction of over 9.6 million tons of CO₂, comparable to what 10.5 million hectares of Amazon rainforest absorb each year.
In the marine sector, Alfa Laval’s high-efficiency solutions are installed on more than half of the world’s cruise vessels, lowering operating costs and enhancing environmental performance. Since 1964, over 3,200 marine boilers have been supplied for cruise and ferry as well as other ships across the globe. The offshore industry also benefits from Alfa Laval’s expertise, with more than 30 modular steam boiler units installed on floating production platforms.
Cutting-edge contributions to MARPOWER: recuperator and waste heat recovery
Within the MARPOWER project, Alfa Laval plays a pivotal role in advancing energy recovery technologies. One of its key contributions is the design of a highly efficient recuperator that preheats air from the compressor before it enters the combustion chamber. This innovation reduces the fuel requirement to reach the desired turbine inlet temperature (TIT), improving system efficiency and lowering emissions. The target effectiveness for the recuperator is 90%, and the design balances thermal performance, pressure drop, and equipment size.
Alfa Laval is responsible for the recuperator’s mechanical design and engineering, while project partner University of Vigo supports CFD (computational fluid dynamics) calculations to validate its thermal performance. Due to the unique operational conditions of this application, very different from Alfa Laval’s traditional product range, new high-temperature materials and manufacturing methods are being explored.
A 50-kW prototype of the recuperator will be developed, classified, and tested at Alfa Laval’s Training Centre in Rauma, Western Finland in 2026. Prior to this, the facility will undergo system modifications. The prototype will help confirm the unit’s performance, safety, and usability. Automated manufacturing and welding techniques will be used during fabrication to assess their suitability for scaling up production.
Alfa Laval is also tasked with designing a waste heat recovery (WHR) unit to follow the recuperator, capturing residual heat to generate steam for a steam turbine. A tailored Aalborg boiler will be used for this purpose, and performance data from the system will feed into the development of digital twins: virtual models used to simulate and optimize system operation.
In line with MARPOWER’s sustainability goals, Alfa Laval is investigating advanced automated manufacturing and welding methods for high-temperature materials. This work supports efficient, scalable, and cost-effective production processes. The MARPOWER system is designed to run on clean fuels like hydrogen or green methane, and Alfa Laval ensures its technologies are compatible with them, reinforcing its commitment to the energy transition.
Working in synergy: collaboration across borders
Collaboration is at the heart of Alfa Laval’s work in MARPOWER. The company works closely with the University of Vigo on recuperator performance modelling through CFD simulation. Additionally, there is ongoing cooperation with partners Aurelia Turbines and LUT University to ensure successful integration of Alfa Laval’s components into the overall system architecture.
Behind this collaborative effort is a dedicated team of experts, each specializing in core areas such as recuperator optimization, strength calculation, prototype engineering, and boiler dimensioning. Drawing from backgrounds in energy technology, mechanical engineering, and production design, the Alfa Laval team combines academic insight with practical, industry-driven experience.
Through its active role in MARPOWER, Alfa Laval is not only contributing cutting-edge thermal technology to the project, but also continuing its tradition of pushing boundaries in sustainable marine engineering. With a firm focus on hydrogen readiness, manufacturing innovation, and integrated system performance, Alfa Laval is helping to shape the future of maritime energy solutions.