CMA CGM APAC chief executive Laurent Olmeta tells CST about the strides the business’s Asia Pacific region is making to get to net zero
CMA CGM is on course to become a net-zero organisation by 2050 – and as part of this, its Asia Pacific business section has launched a range of recent decarbonisation initiatives.
Mr Olmeta tells CST, “The Asia Pacific region, particularly in Singapore, saw several milestones being made.
“To decarbonise shipping, we began biofuel bunkering in Singapore in February 2022 as part of our global trial to scale-up the wider adoption of the clean energy. CMA CGM also joined the Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation-led consortium to launch a drop-in biofuels pilot project to establish an assurance framework for ensuring the supply chain integrity of current and future green marine fuels.”
The Group is also participating in the world’s longest Green and Digital Corridor between Singapore and Rotterdam, which MPA and the Port of Rotterdam Authority are jointly establishing. “The initiative seeks to enable maritime decarbonisation and deploy innovation for more efficient and sustainable shipping,” comments Mr Olmeta.
Tapping technologies, CMA CGM has adopted PSA’s Opt-E-Arrive digital solution to enable CMA CGM vessels to skip the anchorage stop and arrive just-in-time at berth at the CMA CGM-PSA Lion Terminal in Singapore. Set to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through further optimisation of bunker consumption, an annualised bunker saving of 4% to 7% for CMA CGM vessels arriving in Singapore is expected to be achieved with the digital solution.
In China, the carrier’s 23,000-TEU CMA CGM Sorbonne was refuelled with 7,000 m3 of LNG at Yantian port in Shenzhen in November 2022.
And in Yokohama, Japan, Mr Olmeta says, “We are priming for a greener terminal, to be backed by infrastructure of near-zero emissions rubber-tyred gantry cranes, cold ironing and LNG bunkering facilities.”
A Reservation Agreement with Yokohama Kawasaki International Port Corp was signed to relocate CMA CGM’s terminal operations from D4 to the D5 terminal by October 2026.
Mr Olmeta singles out bioLNG and synthetic methane as being of particular interest to the company, alongside LNG.
“The Group made the pioneering choice of using LNG to propel its vessels. LNG is the most advanced solution when it comes to preserving air quality and is the best fuel available today on an industrial scale,” he says, adding that besides bunkering LNG in its LNG-powered ships, CMA CGM also uses alternative fuels like bioLNG and synthetic methane in these dual-fuel gas-powered vessels, “reducing even more greenhouse gas emissions with these fuels. Importantly, the ships can run on e-methane, a source of carbon-neutral fuel”.
CMA CGM Group’s US$1.5Bn Fund for Energies is set to play a pivotal role. Mr Olmeta comments that it is set to “not only accelerate our energy transition but also be transformational in the shipping and logistics sectors”.
The investment to be made over five years, will focus on scaling up production of green fuels, such as biofuels, biomethane, synthetic methane and green methanol, for use in the company’s ships and aircraft. Meanwhile, this runs parallel with the scaling-up of decarbonising port terminals, warehouses and truck fleets.
Mr Olmeta explains, “The Group’s businesses in the Asia Pacific are on the same course, sourcing for solutions and feedstock for green fuels that will have the potential to reduce carbon emissions across the value chain from cultivation and production to storage to transport to usage at costs that are sustainably viable for the industry.
“This potentially aligns industrial groups and/or start-ups with the expertise, regulators and service providers to develop the infrastructure that would take decarbonisation in shipping and logistics to the next level.”
Currently, the CMA CGM Group has 32 LNG-powered ’e-methane ready’ ships in service; and will operate 77 of them by 2026.
Mr Olmeta continues, “In February 2022, we began biofuel bunkering in Singapore as part of our global trial to scale-up the wider adoption of the clean energy. This paves the way for biofuel to scale up as one of the solutions to decarbonise shipping.”
But he adds, “The search for the best alternative fuels is ongoing. We believe there is no one solution but a mix of alternative fuels and technologies that will decarbonise shipping.”
There are challenges when it comes to using alternative fuels in the Asia Pacific region. Mr Olmeta says, “The fragmented approach to decarbonisation is a key challenge. The understanding of low-carbon shipping by various stakeholders is diverse. There are different perspectives on fuel adoption and tracks of solutions. For example, our Group focuses on synthetic methane and e-methane while other stakeholder groups may prioritise ammonia.
“The timeline and pace of sustainable developments by carriers vary. CMA CGM already has 32 e-methane ready vessels in operation, while some are only about to receive their first LNG vessel. The search for solutions on availability of renewable sources and how they can be stored and made accessible to carriers in bunkering hubs like Singapore is ongoing.”
He warns this makes infrastructure planning and development for maritime decarbonisation challenging. However, a solution to these challenges is stakeholder collaborations.
“Through initiatives such as the MPA-Port of Rotterdam Green and Digital Corridor, and Coalition for the Energy of the Future led by the CMA CGM Group, we could converge various stakeholders on common solutions to be scaled up operationally and commercially, harmonising definitions, standards and incentives to enable shipping and logistics’ decarbonisation,” says Mr Olmeta.
A focus for the Asia Pacific region has been to boost shoreside power in ports. In December 2022, CMA CGM Group and Shanghai International Port (Group) Co, Ltd signed a long-term strategic collaboration to develop the mass scale use of cold ironing technology for container ships at the Port of Shanghai.
All fully fitted CMA CGM container ships calling at the port of Shanghai will use an onshore power connection. At the end of 2022, 13 CMA CGM vessels calling at the port of Shanghai were connected to the onshore power supply. By mid-2023, this number will increase to 50 vessels connecting every week.
Mr Olmeta says, “We shall continue to collaborate closely with our port partners to decarbonise shipping, be it cold ironing, alternative fuels, or deploying technologies to optimise vessel performance and operational efficiencies.”
CMA CGM Group’s sustainability approach is set against a background of three pillars: acting for people, planet and fair trade.
Mr Olmeta says: “Strong family values are attached to what the CMA CGM Group does for People. With a global workforce of 150,000 employees, we are committed to ensuring the protection of our employees, promoting education and training as well as supporting diversity and inclusion.
“Our communities are no less important. We rally our employees in initiatives from cleaning up the environment to helping the less privileged. In 2022, we saw over 100 initiatives that involved our staff across 20 markets in the Asia Pacific region.”
Planet: The CMA CGM Group is committed to fighting against climate change and improving air quality. To become a net zero organisation by 2050, the Group has chosen to use cleaner alternative fuels for its ships; and is actively optimising vessels performance and improving operational efficiencies.
The Group is also involved in actions to protect marine and inland biodiversity. Among the flagship initiatives in the Asia Pacific include the Reef Recovery Programme that seeks to aid reef regeneration in the Great Barrier Reef; and protect and regenerate corals that sit within 6,000 km2 of waters in the Philippines and Malaysia.
Mr Olmeta adds: “Through our partnership with the Plastic Flamingo (PLAF) in the Philippines, 120 metric tons of plastic waste was blocked from entering the ocean in a year. Last September, we renewed our partnership to collect and upcycle 600 metric tons of plastic waste from the streets, coastlines and the heavily plastic polluted River Pasig in Metro Manila.”
On fair trade, Mr Olmeta says: “The CMA CGM Group is committed to promoting fair trade through strict compliance with existing laws and regulations. To help protect the oceans and biodiversity, none of our vessels ply the northern sea route and we do not ship plastic waste.
“As we drive sustainable procurement with our suppliers, the CMA CGM group also offers a range of ACT with CMA CGM+ services that enables our customers to analyse, reduce and offset the environmental footprint of goods’ transport. Last November, Easy Recycling was added to the range for customers to opt for their used packaging to be sorted for recycling.”
CMA CGM is moving ever closer to net zero with its focus on cleaner alternative fuels, optimising of vessels and boosting operational efficiencies.
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