WinGD (Winterthur Gas & Diesel) has signed a frame agreement with Panasia, a well-established marine technology developer, to deliver emissions-reduction and fuel-efficiency upgrades for X-DF dual-fuel LNG engines already in service. The signing ceremony took place during Kormarine 2025, an international maritime and energy exhibition held in Busan, South Korea, from October 21–24, 2025.

The partnership intends to help shipowners reduce exposure to tightening carbon-pricing regimes and extend the commercial competitiveness of existing LNG-fuelled tonnage. Panasia, which acts as a system integrator for major Korean and international shipyards, will support WinGD in delivering turnkey retrofit projects covering system supply, integration engineering, and commissioning.

“Korea has been the biggest market for X-DF engines since they were introduced in 2016. It was therefore natural that we start here as we aim to upgrade our installed base to the latest efficient technologies. We are delighted to have found a partner, in Panasia, with so much expertise in the equipment and system integration of both Chinese and Korean-built vessels,” said René Baart, Head of Retrofit & Upgrade Solutions of WinGD.

The initial focus of the partnership will be on upgrade packages enabling first-generation X-DF engines to match the performance of WinGD’s latest X-DF2.0 models, including lower methane slip and improved fuel efficiency. The core retrofit options include Intelligent Control by Exhaust Recycling (iCER) and Variable Compression Ratio (VCR) technology.

According to WinGD, iCER uses exhaust recycling to improve combustion stability when using LNG, while VCR technology increases fuel efficiency by automatically optimising compression ratio depending on the fuel used and engine load.

When deployed together, WinGD says iCER and VCR technologies can reduce methane slip to around 0.7% of fuel-gas volume—more than a two-fold improvement over earlier-generation X-DF engines. In addition to reducing fuel consumption, the drop in methane slip lowers compliance costs under both European and forthcoming IMO emissions rules.

WinGD and Panasia are already in retrofit discussions with multiple ship owners. WinGD recently completed a VCR retrofit on a CMA CGM vessel, with performance results presented at the CIMAC World Congress in June.

WinGD is headquartered in Winterthur, Switzerland, and develops low-speed, two-stroke engines for the global merchant fleet. Panasia is headquartered in Busan and specialises in environmental systems, gas-fuel supply units, and engineering integration for shipyards and vessel operators.