Method for starting an internal combustion engine

A method for starting an internal combustion engine comprising the steps of:

• providing an internal combustion engine having at least one cylinder and a piston supported at a crankshaft for repeated reciprocal movement in the cylinder so as to define a main combustion chamber, the internal combustion engine further having an ignition device arranged in said cylinder with an igniter portion and a fuel injector which are both arranged at a pre-chamber, wherein the pre-chamber has a plurality of orifices for providing fluid communication between said pre-chamber and the main combustion chamber;
• injecting fuel in the pre-chamber at the start of an engine cycle so that the lambda value λ in the pre-chamber is less than 1;
• subsequently igniting the injected fuel in the pre-chamber, thereby pre-heating the pre-chamber prior to a compression of the piston in the cylinder in said engine cycle, and causing combustion jets to exit the pre-chamber via the plurality of orifices and enter the main combustion chamber;
• and
• subsequent to pre-heating of the pre-chamber, injecting fuel in the main combustion chamber in said engine cycle so that the lambda value λ in the main combustion chamber is less than 1.6, wherein the combustion jets cause combustion of the injected fuel in the main combustion chamber.