Everllence has completed the first factory acceptance test of its 18V51/60 engine running entirely on B100 biofuel at its Saint-Nazaire facility in France.

Although the B100 test focuses on a stationary, grid‑connected unit, the successful demonstration of the 18V51/60 running fully on B100 biofuel underlines that the same engine platform could be adapted for biofuel‑enabled marine or floating‑power duties, provided fuel‑supply, safety, and regulatory requirements are met.

The 18-cylinder, four-stroke engine has an output of 18,900 kilowatts and was fully converted to run on B100 instead of diesel. Everllence said the 15-minute trial marked a historic milestone for the engine platform.

Romain Hérault, test engineer at Everllence’s Saint-Nazaire factory, remarked: “We started with a blank page and reconfigured the engine from scratch. The test demonstrated it’s able to reach full potential running on biofuel.”

The engine is one of eight units destined for a new 130-megawatt power plant in Corsica being developed by EDF PEI. Everllence noted that the facility is expected to generate electricity for about one-third of the island, or 110,000 households.

Ahead of the trial, Hérault and his team first ran the engine on fossil fuel to establish baseline performance data, before flushing and cleaning the unit to remove residue. The 18V51/60 tested at Saint-Nazaire is about 13 metres long, almost five metres wide and weighs around 325 metric tonnes.

Everllence stated that B100 biofuel, derived from natural oils such as rapeseed, can cut CO₂ emissions by roughly 60% compared with fossil fuels. The biofuel used at the Saint-Nazaire site was sourced from farmers within a 200-kilometre radius of the factory.

Céline Ernoult, project manager at Everllence, commented: “We’re dealing with big engines, but we also want to move in a greener direction. The idea is to keep the engines, but lower their environmental impact with biofuel.”

Cédric Dupuis, EDF PEI project director for the new Corsica power plant, highlighted that the state-owned company already operates 43 Everllence engines on France’s islands and that the new Corsica plant will raise that total to 51. He also said EDF PEI aims for all its sites to be running on biofuel by 2030.

The engines are scheduled to be shipped to Corsica in early 2026, with the new plant expected to begin operations progressively from mid-2027, replacing the old Le Vazzio fossil fuel facility on the island.

The 18V51/60 engine family is not limited to land‑based power plants; it is also used in marine and floating‑power applications, including on Karpowership’s 'Powerships', where the 18V51/60DF dual‑fuel variant operates on natural gas and can burn liquid biofuels and other liquid fuels.