Feasibility study to explore France’s first bio-LNG production unit for shipping

EveRé, operator of a household waste treatment plant in France, CMA CGM Group, a shipping and logistics company, Elengy, a subsidiary of ENGIE,  and TotalEnergies, a global multi-energy company, have joined forces to study the feasibility of creating France’s first liquefied biomethane (bio-LNG) production unit for the shipping industry.

Produced by converting the biodegradable part of household waste from the Marseille Provence region, bio-LNG would enable the decarbonisation of shipping services departing from the Grand Port Maritime in Marseille and would be used primarily for CMA CGM’s LNG-powered vessels.

Bio-LNG, combined with the dual-fuel gas engine technology developed by CMA CGM, reduces greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, including CO₂, by at least 67%, relative to well-to-wake very-low-sulphur fuel oil. Based on a tank-to-wake measurement (at vessel level), the GHG emissions are reduced by 88%.

LNG allows for a 99% reduction in sulphur oxide emissions, a 91% reduction in fine particles emissions, and a 92% reduction in nitrogen oxide emissions. By the end of 2024, 44 of CMA CGM’s vessels will be powered by LNG.

The project fits perfectly into the local ecosystem, said the companies, benefiting from the existing infrastructure at the Grand Port Maritime, including EveRé’s waste methanisation unit, Elengy’s LNG terminals, which will be used for the storage and delivery of the bio-LNG, TotalEnergies’ bunker vessel, which will be located at the port as of January 2022, and CMA CGM’s fleet of LNG-powered vessels.

The feasibility study has been launched within the framework of this large-scale project, which corresponds with the national drive to promote bio-LNG as defined in France’s Mobility Orientation law.