Ocyan and startup LZ Energia have advanced with a project, in partnership, for research and development of an innovative product that seeks to reduce fuel consumption in drilling rigs by injecting hydrogen into large diesel engines. This technology is in line with Ocyan's ESG initiatives, which seeks carbon neutrality in scopes 1 and 2 by 2035.

“Starting from a pilot concept that LZ uses in engines for the road segment (trucks), our expectation is to adapt it for use in the large engines of our probes. The differential of the proposal is, when using hydrogen together with diesel, it optimizes combustion and, consequently, saves fuel and emits less pollutants.”, explains Leandro Brandão, New Business Manager at Ocyan.

The partnership between Ocyan and the startup LZ Energia began through the Ocyan Waves Challenge, an open innovation program and relationship with the company's startups.

The project is supported by Shell Brasil, through the RD&I investment clause of the National Petroleum Agency (ANP).

“After carrying out a pilot test on one of our probes earlier this year to validate the concept, we are still in the first phase of the project, which includes the delivery of the functional prototype of the product. Having overcome all the challenges of this phase, in the future, we intend to proceed with a second stage, whose efforts will be around tests in a relevant environment and the commercialization of the product”, informs Brandão.

Igor Zanella (photo), partner at LZ Energia, highlights the biggest innovation of the project for the oil and gas industry: “One of the most important features to be developed in the product is an intelligent control for adjusting hydrogen production according to demand with use of industry 4.0 technology. It does the entire process without altering the original engine operation.”

Zanella also recalls that the product can be used in any industry that uses diesel engines, with a capacity above 1500 HP.

“Each Ocyan drilling platform has six diesel engines to generate electricity that keeps the entire structure in operation. The injection of hydrogen improves combustion, reducing fuel consumption and the emission of gases, but several aspects need to be tested to guarantee the safety and reliability of the operation, explains Zanella.

Phase 1 of the project will involve hiring at least 10 dedicated professionals, including electrical, electronic, mechanical and hydrogen specialists.