How Investment And Innovation Are Driving Tomorrow’s Marine Fuel Solutions

Blog Article - November 20, 2020

Total Marine Fuels Global Solutions (TMFGS) marked the culmination of several years of hard work, dedication and major investment in the global Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) market through a series of bunkering milestones over the past two weeks. 

After 3 years in the planning and making, our new LNG bunkering vessel, the Gas Agility, successfully undertook her first active operations in the Port of Rotterdam, refueling the CMA CGM Tenere before undertaking the world’s largest LNG bunkering operation when she refueled the CMA CGM Jacques Saadé, delivering more than 17,300 m3 of LNG.

These events are a clear demonstration of the evolution of LNG as a viable, scalable and deliverable reality in maritime transport and a reflection of the power of strong supplier-customer partnerships in moving the market forward.

Our shared vision for the global LNG market, combined with our dedication, innovation and investment, has seen the transition from heavy fuel oil to LNG deliver a competitive, efficient and immediately available solution for maritime transportation.

As a broad energy Group and the second largest LNG player, Total is now actively engaged across the entire LNG value chain: from production and liquefaction of natural gas, to LNG shipping and trading, to regasification using terminals or floating storage regasification units. We are also participating in the building of industry standards and working with ports globally to help them develop bunkering strategies to meet growing global demand for LNG.

Through our partnerships with the international shipping community, we are not just creating an immediately available solution; we are also building the foundations for tomorrow’s marine fuels today. LNG is a key pillar in helping the maritime industry move towards the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO’s) goals in reducing GHG emissions through to 2050. 

A WINDOW ON TOMORROW’S MARINE FUEL SOLUTIONS

And through the refueling of the CMA CGM Jacques Saadé, we have already demonstrated tomorrow’s fueling solutions is available today, with the introduction of biomethane for approximately 13% of the LNG delivered. 

Undertaken through the Guarantee of Origin (GO) certificates mechanism, this marks the shipping industry’s first commercial use of biomethane on this scale.

The biomethane was supplied from the Groen Gas Haarlemmermeer facility, a joint venture between Dutch waste management company, Meerlanden, and Total Netherlands. It is produced mainly from organic municipal waste.

As a next step of development, biomethane, together with synthetic LNG, can provide a viable pathway to achieve shipping’s decarbonization goal.

A study by SEA-LNG has revealed bio and synthetic LNG to be scalable solutions for the maritime sector, with estimated sustainable global supplies potentially surpassing the future demands of shipping and likely to be commercially competitive compared to alternative low and zero carbon fuels. 

Furthermore, the expanding LNG-fueled fleet could utilize bio/synthetic LNG without needing to undertake any significant modifications, and the existing supply infrastructure will still be fit for bunkering purposes with either fuel.

In comparison to other renewable fuels, such as green hydrogen and ammonia, both bio and synthetic LNG also have an advantage in that they can be transported, stored and bunkered, utilizing existing and technically matured LNG infrastructure.

At the Group level, Total has the ambition to include biogas as part of its energy mix. We have the objective of building a production portfolio of 4 to 6 TWh by 2030.

LNG AS A MARINE FUEL: EXCITING TIMES AHEAD

It is without doubt that LNG provides the environmental and economic profile to be the fuel solution for shipping today and for the years to come, and we have prepared for this through significant investments in assets and infrastructure. 

The next 12 to 18 months will be a busy and exciting time, as we launch further assets to serve the biggest bunker hub in the world in Singapore, as well as the Mediterranean. As a global leader in LNG, our vision is to supply LNG in all major bunkering hubs.

For the Gas Agility, this will be the first of many more successful LNG bunkering operations ahead. She is currently expected to bunker about one container ship per week and will service Total’s new LNG-propelled tanker fleet. By design, she is also compatible to serve a high range of commercial vessels from various segments, including bulkers and tankers, car carriers and passenger vessels. 

Based on ongoing client discussions and general market sentiment, I am upbeat about her growing demand in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) hub. 

Through these investments in LNG infrastructure, we are committed to make it even more attractive for shipping companies all over the world to transit into LNG as a bunker fuel, indeed with Total Marine Fuels Global Solutions! 

Jérôme Leprince-Ringuet , Managing Director of Total Marine Fuels Global Solutions

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