Everllence Introduces Engine-Supported Air Lubrication, Claims Up to 6% Efficiency Gain

Everllence announced Engine Supported Air Lubrication (ESAL) on 2 September 2026. The system supplies a hull air-lubrication system with air from the ship’s main engine to reduce fuel consumption. Everllence says ESAL can improve vessel efficiency by up to 6%. The figure is the manufacturer’s own claim: the sources reviewed contain no independent operating data, installation cost or payback period. Its white paper says relative savings are generally highest for wide-beam, relatively low-draught ships such as LNG carriers, container vessels and ro-ro cargo vessels, and that initial development focuses on its G95 and G80 two-stroke engines.

What the 6% Figure Covers

The figure comes from Everllence’s announcement and its white paper, “A leap in vessel energy efficiency advancement with engine-supported air lubrication.” The paper states that ESAL improves overall vessel efficiency “up to 6%, considering typical operational profiles.” It illustrates the effect on three example ships: a 16,000 teu New Panamax container vessel, an 8,000 teu Post Panamax container vessel and a 174,000 cbm LNG carrier. The LNG carrier example uses G70 engines and is not prioritised for initial development.

According to the paper, actual savings depend on the operational profile: the gap between gross and net savings widens as speed falls and varies with the vessel’s draught. The paper says Everllence is releasing ESAL after testing on a test bed and on two vessels with different system configurations, and that the tests demonstrated the calculated savings. The sources reviewed do not offer independent verification of these results. The paper also says the impact on engine component lifetime still awaits further service experience.

How ESAL Works

ESAL builds on conventional hull air lubrication and takes the air from the main engine. For the New Panamax example, the white paper says that at design draught the air pressure must be boosted by an electric blower at lower engine loads. It adds that it is generally beneficial to combine ESAL with a shaft generator.

Everllence argues that efficiency gains keep their value whatever final form IMO’s mid-term measures take, because lower fuel consumption reduces emissions and fuel costs. Because FuelEU Maritime limits GHG intensity, ESAL does not change a ship’s intensity; but a compliance deficit is multiplied by the energy used, so less fuel shrinks the penalty for a ship above the limit. Under the EU ETS, which prices absolute emissions, fewer allowances are needed. The paper notes that ESAL does not lower the GHG intensity of the fuel itself, so its value comes through lower fuel use rather than an accounting advantage in GFI metrics under the draft IMO Net-Zero Framework, which has not been adopted.

Why It Matters for Operators

Who it concerns: owners and technical managers of container ships, LNG carriers and ro-ro vessels with large two-stroke main engines who are assessing air lubrication or other energy-efficiency upgrades.

Which decision it affects: whether an air-lubrication retrofit or newbuild specification justifies the yard time and investment against fuel and compliance savings. The white paper itself says preliminary evaluations indicate direct fuel-cost savings “may be moderate when viewed in isolation.”

What is still missing: which engines beyond the G95 and G80 can use ESAL; what saving a specific ship can expect at its own speed and draught profile; under which measurement conditions the 6% was calculated and tested; independent operating data; installation cost and payback, which the sources reviewed do not give; and long-term effects on engine components.