CMA CGM to Invest in Production and Development of Biomethane Gas
The CMA CGM Group announced that it will support the production and development of biomethane, a renewable green gas, as part of the company’s overall efforts to be carbon-neutral by 2050. Customers of the shipping line will also have the opportunity to participate in the effort to realize the benefits of the gas as part of a carbon analysis and offset program CMA CGM launched earlier this year.
Under the program, CMA CGM will support the production of 12,000 tons of biomethane, which is a renewable green gas produced in part by the methanation of organic and plant waste. CMA CGM intends to push ahead with the development of this energy source by investing in biomethane production facilities and studying the viability of liquefaction processes so that biomethane can be rolled out as a shipping fuel.
According to the company, the 12,000 tons of gas that it will support the production of under this program is equivalent to a year’s fuel consumption of two 1,400-TEU LNG-powered ships operating on its Northern European “Balt3 line” between St. Petersburg, Russia and Rotterdam, Netherlands. By supporting the development of the new gas and the study of its possible future use for the shipping industry, CMA CGM said it is also benefiting the agricultural sector which grows the materials from which the gas is produced.
As of May 2021, the group’s customers will also be able to participate in the program by selecting biomethane as one of the services offered in an analysis and off-set program. Known as ACT with CMA CGM+, it provides a range of services designed to enable customers to analyze, reduce, and offset their environmental footprint associated with their shipments with CMA CGM.
“We have crossed a new step with the launch of the first low-carbon shipping offer based on biomethane,” said Rodolphe Saadé, Chairman and CEO of the CMA CGM Group. “We know that there is still a long way to go to meet the commitments of the Paris Agreement. Achieving these goals do not rely on a single solution but on a set of initiatives and new technologies complementary to each other.”
Saadé noted that the CMA CGM Group is heavily investing in research and development alongside its industrial partners to identify the energy sources of the future. The group aims to achieve a positive impact on its customers’ carbon footprint and helping to protect the environment. Since 2008, the group reports that it has lowered its CO2 emissions per container-kilometer by 49 percent.
The CMA CGM Group is using the most effective technologies available to accelerate the energy transition in the shipping and logistics industry. Today they believe LNG is the optimum solution already available for reducing the carbon footprint of shipping. By 2022, 32 of the group’s vessels will be LNG-powered.
By supporting biomethane production, CMA CGM is accelerating its commitment to leading the energy transition in the shipping sector. Biomethane, coupled with CMA CGM’s dual-fuel gas-power technology, they believe can reduce well-to-wake (entire value chain) greenhouse gas emissions (including CO2) by at least 67 percent. On a tank-to-wake basis (at ship level), the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions reaches 88 percent (including CO2).