From LNG to e-methane, an effective solution now to prepare for the future

The CMA CGM Group’s CEO Rodolphe Saadé has a clear vision for developing alternatives to fossil fuels in the shipping and logistics industry in a short space of time:

“In view of the challenges facing the world, we need to step up the rate of energy transition and provide concrete short, medium and long-term solutions”. 

In terms of the environmental impact, shipping currently accounts for just 2-3% of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide, even though it accounts for 90% of goods transported around the globe. It is currently the means of transport with the lowest carbon dioxide emissions per ton of goods transported. So how do we maintain our ability to ensure fluid international trade, which is growing steadily, while also reducing the negative effects of our operations? 

We have opted to make a transition using liquefied natural gas (LNG). Why? LNG is the best solution currently available to reduce the environmental impact of shipping. LNG has a very positive impact on air quality, cutting fine particle emissions by 91%, sulfur oxides emissions by 99% (exceeding current international regulations) and nitrogen oxides emissions by 92%. It is also an available form of energy that marks an initial concrete shift towards energy transition. This fuel represents an initial step forward in reducing greenhouse gas emissions relative to VLSFO (Very Low Sulphur Fuel Oil), which is used by the majority of the shipping industry to reduce sulfur oxides emissions.

But being content with these performances will not be enough to address climate concerns. New technologies already within reach mean we can improve LNG’s environmental performance even further in the very short term. The technical advances we are developing, such as intelligent onboard energy management systems, will allow for additional short-term gains of around 20% in terms of greenhouse gas emissions.

In addition, the Group’s LNG-powered ships can already run on biomethane and synthetic methane (e-methane), thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions even more.

Biomethane, produced from methanization at the farm or direct recovery of landfill gas, reduces greenhouse gas emissions by an additional 67% at least. We recently launched France’s first bio-LNG production project, supported by the Coalition for the Energy of the Future, and are incorporating increasing quantities of biomethane into our energy mix.

E-methane, produced from decarbonized hydrogen and captured carbon dioxide, allows for even more significant reductions in emissions (potentially carbon neutral) and is already within sight.

This fleet of “biomethane and e-methane ready” vessels currently comprises 20 ships already in service and will have 44 ships by the end of 2024.

In 2020, CMA CGM’s fleet reduced its carbon dioxide emissions by 4% relative to 2019. This performance confirms the previous year’s trend (reduction of 6% in 2019). Since 2008, the Group has reduced its carbon dioxide emissions by 49% (per TEU-km), putting it ahead of schedule in achieving its goal of a 50% reduction by 2030. Carbon dioxide emissions per container transported decreased by 2.5% relative to 2019, to 1.12 tons of carbon dioxide per TEU transported.

There is currently active research into new energy sources to power the vessels of the future, such as biomethane, hydrogen and biofuel. While they are highly promising, and even already being used, these energy sources are not yet available on a wide enough scale.

That is why we have decided to make use as of now of LNG, which presents the huge advantage of an immediate rollout, with major benefits for the environment: a pioneering move in the world of shipping! In September 2020, we launched the CMA CGM JACQUES SAADE, the first 23,000 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit) container ship in the world powered by LNG. By 2024, the CMA CGM fleet will have 44 LNG-powered vessels. At present, 20 of these LNG vessels already serve our main markets of Europe, the US and Asia.

• 923,000 TEU vessels, in service between Asia and Europe;
• 61,400 TEU vessels, serving the intra-European region;
• 515,000 TEU vessels chartered by the Group. 

As its name suggests, liquefied natural gas (LNG) refers to natural gas in its liquid form. This state is reached when the gas is cooled to a temperature of around -161 °C.

It is an odorless, colorless, non-corrosive and non-toxic gas. Did you know that in its liquid state, natural gas takes up 600 times less space than in its gaseous state?

Farid TRAD: First of all, we are looking into all the alternatives, such as hydrogen, ammonia and sail power. We are permanently forming partnerships, for example with Energy Observer for hydrogen and startup Syroco for sail propulsion, allowing us to conduct more in-depth reviews and make what we believe are the best choices for the short and long term. We have looked into energy as a whole.

Of course, we are interested in hydrogen, for two reasons: it is an energy source that makes it possible to produce synthetic fuels (such as e-methane) and can also be used directly to power vessels.

However, using hydrogen directly in a vessel requires a huge amount of space on board relative to the goods, which makes its use complicated for long-distance container transportation. Another operating restraint is the maximum period for which this energy can be stored, which is 16 days, while an LNG vessel can run for more than 90 days on a full tank of LNG. Lastly, more than 90% of the world’s hydrogen is currently carbonized as it is produced from gas and oil. Running a vessel on hydrogen today would result in emissions three times higher than with a diesel vessel.

While it is not particularly widely used to power ships, hydrogen is still key as there are a number of synthetic fuels at the origin of the production process: e-methane, e-methanol and even e-ammonia. It is also being considered for the rest of our operations, such as to power reefers (refrigerated containers) at our terminals or to run our trucks on, as is currently the case in a project with one of our supermarket clients.

E-ammonia, produced from hydrogen and nitrogen, is more accessible in terms of technologies and takes up less space on board vessels but presents very significant risks in terms of safety: the molecule is particularly toxic to people, cargos and the environment, and is corrosive. There is also a risk that it will be a long time before ammonia-powered vessels solve their greenhouse gas emissions problem. For example, burning ammonia creates N2O, a very potent greenhouse gas, which has global warming potential (GWP) of 300, compared with 30 for methane.

E-methanol, produced from hydrogen and carbon dioxide, is also an interesting molecule. It nevertheless presents a number of disadvantages: loss of volume (less energy efficient), no existing large-scale distribution network for the time being, average toxicity.

Dual-fuel LNG motorization is a pragmatic industrial solution, with an energy source that is immediately available, in sufficient quantities, with an existing transportation and distribution infrastructure. LNG allows for lower carbon dioxide emissions, with a more significant reduction thanks to the incorporation of biomethane. This is a considerable advantage in combating climate change, which requires not just being carbon neutral in 2050 but also reducing emissions right now in order to ensure that total emissions are as low as possible by 2050. In the long term, LNG may be replaced by e-methane in these vessels, with the aim of achieving our target of being carbon neutral by 2050. This e-methane could even be produced from carbon dioxide captured on vessels. 

Farid TRAD: LNG is all about decarbonizing the molecule. One idea we are looking into is capturing carbon emitted from burning LNG, and thanks to an ingenious design forming a virtuous loop in energy production. If you capture carbon, which you get to react with hydrogen, you can produce methane. If the hydrogen has been produced in a decarbonized way, this methane is called e-methane, which is carbon neutral.

Capturing carbon on a vessel powered by fuel would be complicated as you would need energy to cool the carbon in order to keep it in a liquid state at -50 °C. You would also have to clean the fumes and thereby create additional waste.

On a gas-powered vessel, the fumes are very clean as they contain few particles, and cooling is not a problem as LNG is stored at -161 °C. In terms of thermodynamics, this is a virtuous circle as the engine means we have the same quantity of methane to heat as carbon dioxide to cool, forming a very efficient carbon cycle.

To produce decarbonized hydrogen in large quantities and at a competitive price, we can turn to the countries with the greatest renewable energy resources (for example, those with the most sunshine) and then export it in the form of methane. Finally, we use carbon dioxide as a way of transporting hydrogen. Hydrogen is used in the form of methane. The carbon dioxide emitted is captured and then sent back to be turned back into methane.

On an industrial scale, this saves dozens of years.

Created in 2019 on the initiative of Rodolphe Saadé, the Coalition for the Energy of the Future marks the end of a go-it-alone approach for each industry and business line, getting them to take action together to step up the development of future energy sources and future technologies to make transportation and logistics lower carbon and more competitive.

In addition to CMA CGM, the coalition also includes companies such as Amazon Web Services, Engie, Faurecia, Michelin, Schneider Electric, Total, Wärtsilä, Carrefour, Crédit Agricole, Kuehne+Nagel Group, Rolls-Royce and Air Liquide. By pooling our respective strengths and R&D, we are projecting a shared vision through this coalition without borders. And we are giving ourselves the means to achieve a massive reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

The Coalition is stepping up its commitment via seven initial concrete projects:

>Decarbonized energy production:

- Green hydrogen,

- Biofuels,

-E-methane,

- Green electricity,

>Innovation: Zero emission vehicles,

> Transportation and logistics energy management:

- Transportation chain eco-calculator

- Ecological multimodal platforms.

These projects include Marseille Fos Port, which is preparing to become home to a bio-LNG production unit. Bio-LNG is liquefied biomethane. How is it different from conventional LNG? The methane is produced from recovery of the biodegradable portion of household waste from the Marseille Provence region. The project forms a circular system and helps to reduce local air pollutants (nitrogen oxides, suphfur oxides and fine particles), improve air quality and quality of life for people living in the region, and support the energy transition in the shipping industry. A virtuous example of a circular economy in which some people’s waste can become the solution for others.

The feasibility study has begun, centered around the CMA CGM Group, EveRé, the multi-process household waste treatment station for Aix-Marseille-Provence, Elengy, a subsidiary of Engie, operating liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals at Fos-sur-Mer, and TotalEnergies, the global broad energy company.

Wide-scale use of this alternative fuel would constitute a major step towards decarbonizing shipping services departing from the port of Marseille and fit in perfectly with the local ecosystem. It benefits from the port’s existing infrastructure: EveRé’s waste methanization unit, Elengy’s methane terminals, which will be used to store and deliver bio-LNG, and TotalEnergies’ bunkering vessel, which will be located at the port of Marseille as of January 2022. Using bio-LNG on the vessels in our fleet will enable us to reduce greenhouse gas emissions across the entire “well-to-wake” value chain by at least 67%. And by up to 88% “tank-to-wake” relative to VLSFO, the fuel most widely used at present by the goods shipping industry.

For the Group, becoming carbon neutral therefore means taking action with a wide range of partners to develop a system capable of responding to the needs of our industry, as well as probably the needs of our economies as a whole.

In November, 2021, our two Groups have committed to working together to advance the energy transition with concrete projects.

The goal is to establish the production and distribution of synthetic methane and BioLNG on an industrial scale so it can be used by the shipping sector.

An initial project to produce liquefied biomethane (BioLNG) for shipping has already been launched by both groups at the Port of Marseille, in partnership with Métropole Aix-Marseille-Provence and TotalEnergies.

ENGIE is leading further synthetic methane production industrial projects in which CMA CGM will have the possibility to invest, including by means of multi-year purchase commitments. These projects will harness various technologies, such as pyro-gasification or methanation using green hydrogen and captured CO2.

This partnership enables the pooling of expertise and R&D capabilities to develop the energy sources of the future to enable the decarbonization of the shipping sector. It will facilitate the sharing of both’s groups’ knowledge and R&D work, most notably in key technologies such as carbon capture and green hydrogen production.

Much more than a partnership, it is a concrete commitment to the energy transition.

How?  Thanks to the dual-fuel gas-powered technology developed by CMA CGM, bioLNG and synthetic methane can already be used. The stake is to produce and distribute this renewable energy on an industrial scale to accompany the growth of the Group's fleet which will operate 44 LNG-powered vessels in 2024.

Biomethane can reduce greenhouse gas emissions (including CO2) by at least 67% compared to VLSFO on a well-to-wake basis (entire value chain). Synthetic methane will provide a means of eliminating up to 100% of CO2 emissions.

This cooperation is a major step towards carbon neutrality.