CMA CGM partners with SIPG and Shanghai Electric on bio-methanol supply
French giant signed an agreement with Shanghai port and Shanghai Electric to secure bio-methanol supplies
The deal taps Shanghai Electric’s Taonan production base in northern China to provide up to 200,000 tonnes per year transported through Shanghai port, as it builds up its green fuel capacity
CMA CGM has signed a long-term agreement with Shanghai International Port Group and Shanghai Electric to secure methanol fuel supplies.
Under this agreement, Shanghai Electric will supply the French shipping giant with bio-methanol produced at its Taonan base in Liaoning Province, which will be transported via a land-sea network to the port of Shanghai — the world’s busiest container port.
Although LNG has re-emerged as shipowners’ preferred alternative fuel over the past year, CMA CGM still needs to procure supplies for its existing orderbook of methanol dual-fuel newbuildings.
The company has more than 20 methanol-powered ships on order. Earlier this month, it debuted its first containership using methanol fuel technology, the 13,000 teu CMA CGM Iron (IMO: 9996678). This vessel is also the first in a series of 12 ships set to be deployed this year and in 2026.
The Taonan plant is expected to begin operations in June this year, with an initial annual production capacity of 50,000 tonnes of bio-methanol. Shanghai Electric aims to boost the volume to 200,000 tonnes if the product’s commercial viability is proven.
Meanwhile, Shanghai is actively developing itself into a green fuel bunkering hub, targeting annual capacities of 1m cu m of LNG and 1m tonnes of low-emission methanol and biofuel by 2030.
This initiative comes as many major ports have begun incorporating green fuel bunkering into their competitive offerings, driven by increasingly stringent international emission reduction regulations.
