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13 min ago 3 min read
French energy firm Engie and shipping operator CMA CGM will develop a 7,000 tonnes per year (100GWh) biomethane production plant in the Le Havre industrial-port zone, Normandy, to fuel CMA CGM’s fleet.
Under the a framework agreement, Engie will lead project development, and subject to reaching a final investment decision (FID), will oversee the construction and operation of the facility.
The facility is expected to be operational between 2029 and 2030. It will convert livestock waste, household biowaste and agricultural residues feedstocks into biomethane and a natural fertiliser byproduct.
The biomethane will be supplied to the CMA CGM fleet through the European gas grid under a certified mass-balance system.
Biomethane, liquefied as bioLNG, is fully compatible with CMA CGM’s LNG-powered vessels, engines, and existing infrastructure.
The pair say the plant is expected to avoid around 23,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, while the renewable fuel is believed to offer a 67% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.
Each year, the process will produce 100,000 tonnes of natural fertiliser byproduct, a digestate which will support local farming activities, and 13,000 tonnes of biogenic CO2, which will be recovered for sale.
CMA CGM will invest in the facility through its Pulse energy fund as a minority shareholder.
Engine aims to reach 10TWh of annual biomethane production capacity in Europe by 2035, increasing from current levels of 1.2TWh.
In parallel, CMA CGM aims to have more than 200 dual-fuel vessels capable of being powered by biomethane, biomethanol and e-fuels join the fleet by 2030.
France-Singapore bioLNG relations
BioLNG is increasingly being viewed as a near-term fuel to help decarbonise shipping on a global scale.
This comes as CMA CGM, Singapore’s Maritime and Port Authority (MPA), and Singapore LNG (SLNG) explore using existing gas infrastructure for bioLNG in .
In May 2025, Singapore and France also signed a to develop a biomethane bunkering trial in Singapore with CMA CGM.
According to market research, Europe holds a global bioLNG market share of 34%, and Asia-Pacific has a 24% share, respectively.
Europe’s bioLNG market is supported by the European Commission’s FuelEU maritime regulation, which targets the greenhouse gas intensity of maritime fuels to be reduced by up to 80% by 2050, starting from a 2% target in 2025.
Under France’s third multiannual energy programme (PPE 3), 44TWh of biomethane production is targeted for 2030, building up to between 47TWh and 82TWh by 2035, representing an opportunity to decarbonise the domestic maritime sector.
