Audi Lucas has taken up the post of Chief Digitization Officer (CDO) at MAN Diesel & Turbo, where he is tasked with maintaining and replacing "analogue" devices with digital ones in MAN Diesel turbines. Before moving to MAN, Lucas was employed at the global consultancy firm Wipro Technologies as Director. "Digitalization is not as much about technology as it is about addressing friction points in the market. Then finding new ways and business opportunities to address those points in a blindingly fast and agile way," says Lucas. MAN Diesel Chairman of the Board Uwe Lauber says: "As a creative mission, digitization goes way beyond the development of technologies," concluding that in Germany, MAN Diesel & Turbo will have an easier development of current diesel engine projects.

BMW made a strong comeback, posting 20% sales growth in the first nine months of this year, on the back of its sub-2 litre diesel engine portfolio, enabling growth faster than the market. The diesel engines have proven to be of the utmost quality, and will be made available across eight different models. Frank Schloeder, acting president of the BMW Group India said there was a reason why the company has slowed down the business as it was not sustainable and the company had to take some important decision to bring the business back on track.

MAN offers a wide range of high-speed 12-cylinder Diesel engines for use in commercial shipping. For heavy operation – with unlimited operating hours and working up to 100% full load – such as for tugboats and other working ships, MAN Truck & Bus provides a range of outputs from 190 kW to 735 kW . In light operation, MAN engine range offers efficient 6-, 8- and 12-cylinder engines from 537 kW to 1,324 kW for escort, ambulance, and police boats. A characteristic feature of MAN marine engines is their powerful acceleration coupled with an extremely low fuel consumption.

Leclanche, the leading vertically integrated energy storage solution company, and Narada Power, the leading global battery manufacturer, announced today a strategic partnership for the manufacturing and development of lithium-ion battery technology for the Chinese and global markets. As part of the alliance, Narada will manufacture both G-NMC and LTO batteries, to complement manufacturing at Leclanché's Willstätt, Germany and Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland sites. The opening of a new 2.5 GWh fabrication facility in Hangzhou, China, is planned for 2017. Leclanché will support Narada with technology transfer to achieve low-cost, scale manufacturing of Leclanché's proprietary high-cycling and fast-charging lithium titanate (LTO) and high energy density graphite nickel manganese cobalt (G-NMC) battery storage technologies.

Scientists from the Stanford University have made significant progress in the development of fuel cells. The scientific team headed by former Stanford student Haotian Wang discovered that by compressing platinum catalysts by just a fraction of a nanometer, catalyst activity can be increased almost twofold, which is a very significant fact in the development of clean energy sources. The catalysts are used to accelerate chemical reactions, while using less energy. The performance of a metal catalyst depends on its electron structure, that is the way the electrons are distributed in its orbit. "Our tuning technique could make fuel cells more energy efficient and increase their power output," said co-author Yi Cui, a professor of materials science and engineering at Stanford.

MAN Diesel & Turbo has secured an order of two Turbomachinery Trains for an Iranian refinery south of Tehran. The trains to be delivered are part of MAN's ReTPac concept (Refinery Train Package). The machinery has been ordered by Iranian EPC Nargan Company and will serve the process of hydrotreating, ensuring an efficient production. The current order from ERC also underlines the success of MAN Diesel & Turbo’s ReTPac concept, specifically designed for refinery applications.

MAN Diesel & Turbo has won the engine-supply contract from Fincantieri for newbuildings ordered by Costa Asia and P&O Cruises, Australia. The two companies are members of Carnival Corporation & plc, the world’s largest leisure travel company with a fleet of over 100 ships. Each vessel will feature 2 × 14V48/60CR + 3 × 8L48/60CR medium-speed MAN engines, providing 62,400 kW installed power. The engines will be delivered to Fincantieri’s shipyards in Monfalcone (Trieste) and Marghera (Venice) in late 2019. All three cruise vessels equipped with the new MAN engines will weigh 133,500 gross tonnes, have a length of 323 m and a passenger capacity of 4,000.