The CMA CGM Group is joining the partners of the Jupiter 1000 industrial demonstrator project piloted by GRTgaz in Fos-sur-Mer, France, aiming to produce green hydrogen from renewable power and also e-methane, a synthetic gas using this hydrogen and CO2 captured from the industrial process.
Through its participation in the project, CMA CGM aims to further accelerate the pace of its fleet’s transition to new very low-carbon fuel sources. With Jupiter 1000, GRTgaz intends to provide solutions to the challenge of decarbonising gas networks and the intermittent nature of renewable energies. The idea is to convert a portion of renewable power, at times when it is abundant, into low-carbon energy (hydrogen and e-methane) so it can be stored on a large scale and for lengthy periods.
The first electrolyser (producing hydrogen from water and renewable power) injected hydrogen into GRTgaz’s gas transmission network in February 2020. A second electrolyser, employing a different technology from the previous one, successfully entered service at the beginning of November 2021.
Beyond producing hydrogen, Jupiter 1000 also recycles CO2 by converting it into synthetic gas. CO2 produced at a nearby steelmaking plant is captured and piped to the Jupiter 1000 site. Rather than being discharged into the atmosphere, the CO2 is recycled with hydrogen in a methanation unit. The syngas produced can be used instead of fossil fuel gas and employed freely across all transport and distribution networks. The hydrogen methanation facilities are due to be commissioned in June 2022.
The Jupiter 1000 demonstrator project benefits from the expertise of several partners. Compagnie Nationale du Rhône generates the renewable power, RTE handles the power transmission, McPhy supplies the electrolysers, Leroux & Lotz captures and stores the CO2, Khimod handles the methanation process, CEA-Liten is piloting the trials, GRTgaz and Teréga supply the green gas to the conventional gas network and the Port of Marseille houses the project. CMA CGM will bring to the Jupiter 1000 project its expertise in shipping and logistics, as well as guidance and fresh insights from its perspective on customer needs.
The CMA CGM Group says it is committed to energy transition and has set itself the goal of Net zero carbon emissions by 2050. In pursuit of this goal, the Group is focusing on low-carbon fuels to power its ships. By providing access to the results of its green hydrogen production, methanation and CO2 capture, Jupiter 1000 will enable CMA CGM to accelerate development of the production sector for synthetic methane, a key fuel for the decarbonisation of its operations.
CMA CGM already has 28 ‘e-methane ready’ dual-fuel, LNG-powered containerships and will have a total of 44 vessels of this type in service by the end of 2024. Christine Cabau Woehrel, EVP CMA CGM Group, said: “The Jupiter 1000 project is of great interest to the CMA CGM Group as part of our efforts to find very low-carbon new fuel sources. To help us meet our Net zero target by 2050, we are resolutely committed to searching for and industrialising innovative non-fossil fuel gas solutions, with biomethane and synthetic methane. The Jupiter 1000 project will give us access to one of the first demonstrator projects of the kind. Moreover, it is located at Fos-sur-Mer, where we recently completed our first LNG bunkering operations. We intend to support the potential emergence of a whole new industry.”
Thierry Trouvé, CEO GRTgaz, added: “I’m delighted the Jupiter 1000 consortium is bringing in new expertise. The interest shown by the likes of CMA CGM, a world leader in shipping and logistics, represents a major endorsement of the renewable and low-carbon gas industry’s credibility and of its efforts to rise to the challenges posed by the energy transition. CMA CGM, which has a clear vision for the future of the shipping industry, will help us to scale up the industrial performance of the technologies we are trialling.”
