The CMA CGM Group, and its low-carbon energy partner Engie, have announced plans today to invest in France’s first industrial and commercial unit for second-generation biomethane production, known as the Salamander project.
The project is intended to meet the needs of CMA CGM and the wider shipping industry. The first gas production unit is proposed for Le Havre in northern France, backed by the Havre Seine Métropole urban community via the investment programme ‘Le Havre, Ville portuaire intelligente‘ (Le Havre, a smart port city). The unit will be fuelled by dry biomass from local wood-waste sources, along with solid recovered fuel, and will produce biomethane via pyrogasification. The site will aim to produce 11,000t of biomethane annually, starting in 2026.
A funding request has been submitted to the European Commission’s Innovation Fund. By developing the renewable gas industry and the Salamander project, both CMA CGM and Engie will help achieve the energy independence and energy transition goals set forth by the European Commission in the RepowerEU plan. The eventual aim is to increase annual production of renewable gas in Europe and worldwide to 200,000t by 2028. The Salamander project will help reach that target. CMA CGM and Engie have been working together for several months within the Coalition for the Energy of the Future.
CMA CGM Group, which aims to achieve net-zero carbon by 2050, already has a fleet of 30 dual-fuel e-methane ready ships in operation – a figure that will rise to 77 by the end of 2026. The dual-fuel engine technology developed by CMA CGM, which currently runs on LNG, is already capable of using bioLNG, as well as synthetic methane. This fuel reduces greenhouse gas emissions by up to 67% compared with VLSFO from well to wake. Against this backdrop, CMA CGM and Engie are pledging their commitment to promoting the development of the renewable gas sector at an industrial scale.
Salamander is the culmination of both groups’ desire to promote production and distribution sectors for renewable gas in Europe – particularly in France. It is the application on an industrial scale of 10 years of research and development conducted by Engie within the framework of the Gaya project, which has demonstrated the technical, economic and environmental viability of producing renewable gas. The Salamander project also reflects CMA CGM’s close connection with the Le Havre region, where the site is being considered. CMA CGM is the largest local maritime company in terms of market share, operating in the region since 1994. Its roots can even be traced back to 1863 as CGM. 15 weekly connections serve the port of Le Havre – an illustration of its strategic importance to the CMA CGM Group – and the local office employs a staff of over 400 employees.
