CMA CGM makes industrial scale move into biomethane production

CMA CGM and French energy giant Engie are co-investing in a biomethane project in the North European hub port of Le Havre that will be capable of producing up to 200,000 tons of renewable gas for the shipping industry by 2028.

The project, known as Salamander, is the first initiative under a strategic partnership signed between CMA CGM and Engie in November 2021 to produce second-generation biomethane in support of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050, the carrier said in a statement Thursday.

Salamander plans to come on stream gradually starting in 2026 and initially produce 11,000 tons of second-generation biomethane annually, backed by a total investment of €150 million ($156 million), CMA CGM said.

CMA CGM has a fleet of 30 dual-fuel e-methane-ready ships in operation, and 47 additional vessels are due to join the fleet by the end of 2026. The dual-fuel engine technology developed by CMA CGM, which currently runs on liquefied natural gas (LNG), is already capable of using bio LNG, as well as synthetic methane.

The carrier noted in its statement that synthetic methane reduced greenhouse gas emissions by up to 67 percent compared with very low sulfur fuel oil (VLSFO) across the complete “well-to-wake” value chain.

Maersk makes move to methanol

While CMA CGM invests in biomethane production, Maersk has signed strategic agreements with six companies to provide a total of 730,000 tonnes of methanol a year by the end of 2025. The fuel will be used to drive Maersk’s newly ordered fleet of 12 methanol-powered vessels that will each have a capacity of 16,000 TEU.

Green, or renewable, methanol is an ultra-low carbon chemical produced from sustainable biomass, often called bio-methanol, or from carbon dioxide and hydrogen produced from renewable electricity, known as e-methanol.

By contrast, in the Salamander project, Engie is using a new production method for second-generation biomethane using wood waste and pyro-gasification, an energy production technology that creates green gas.

Source: Journal of Commerce

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