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Finnish engine manufacturer Wärtsilä has announced that it will establish a new centralised environmental products know-how unit.

Termed Delivery Centre Ecotech (DC Ecotech), the unit will focus on developing and delivering environmental technologies, as well as products for emissions reduction and fuel efficiency improvement.

DC Ecotech will be a global unit within Wärtsilä and it is to be headed by Mr Juha Kytölä, President of Wärtsilä Finland, and currently also Vice President, Delivery Centre Vaasa, Finland. The new unit will be fully operational from January 2009.

Commenting on the new eco-unit, Wärtsilä said "By combining the broad and outstanding know-how within the company, Wärtsilä will strengthen its global leadership position in offering environmental technologies for power solutions."

In explaining the reasoning behind this initiative, Mr Kytölä commented: "Wärtsilä has many years of experience in delivering emissions reducing equipment for the exhaust stream of its engines, both in land based power plants and ship installations. Common to all these deliveries is the fact that they are tailor made for each specific installation.

"DC Ecotech will focus on both the further development of these technologies, as well as a portfolio of products that can be produced in volume."

The finnish firm added "DC Ecotech will act as Wärtsilä's centre for proactively developing environmental technologies. Furthermore, in promoting and providing legislation know-how, the unit will help customers to comply with environmental rules and regulations as they become increasingly stringent."

In tackling these environmental challenges, Wärtsilä's DC Ecotech unit aims to continue and expand the company's ongoing new product research.

This includes work on the development of a new selective catalytic reactor (SCR) unit system for gas engines as well as the validation and design optimisation of the recently launched NOR (Nitrogen Oxides Reducers) SCR unit.

Developmental work also continues on a combined marine scrubber and exhaust gas module, a waste heat recovery concept and carbon dioxide capture and storage technology.