Leading energy companies TotalEnergies and Chevron, and major gas carrier Seapeak, have joined the Methane Abatement in Maritime Innovation Initiative (MAMII), led by Safetytech Accelerator. The three companies join the now more than 20 members of MAMII, emphasising its pivotal role in addressing methane abatement within the maritime sector.
Chevron, a global energy company, Seapeak, an owner-operator of liquefied gas vessels, and TotalEnergies, the world’s third largest LNG player, will bring their valuable insights and commitment to MAMII’s mission: tackling the critical challenge of ‘methane slip’.
The initiative can also announce that it has selected four providers to produce feasibility studies on the technologies which will reduce methane emissions from ships. Further details will be announced in the Spring.
The release of unburnt methane is a key obstacle to unlocking the full environmental potential of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) as a maritime fuel. Now in its second year, MAMII was launched in September 2022 by Safetytech Accelerator, bringing together industry leaders, technology innovators, and maritime stakeholders to advance technologies for measuring and mitigating methane emissions in the maritime sector.
Lloyd Bland, Sr. Manager, Chevron Shipping, said:
“Chevron Shipping is very pleased to join MAMII. We are committed to reducing methane emissions from our LNG carriers and MAMII is an excellent opportunity for us to work with industry leaders on sharing best practices and exploring new technologies to achieve this goal.”
Chris McDade, Vice President, Operations at Seapeak added:
“LNG is already the preferred choice versus traditional marine fuels – it generates less CO2 and has significantly lower emissions – but there can be even more done to minimise the environmental impact. As a MAMII anchor partner, our fleet will directly participate in feasibility studies, new equipment trials and testing of technical solutions to reduce or eliminate methane slip from LNG vessels”.
To date, MAMII has produced a comprehensive technology landscape report for its members, covering regulatory requirements, ‘Well to Tank’ and ‘Tank to Wake’ analyses, and cost-benefit assessments. The initiative curated an ecosystem of 27 companies specialising in methane capture, measurement, and abatement, with 13 actively engaged with MAMII partners. MAMII is currently focussed on ‘on-ship’ trials, expanding the range of pilots, and starting to address fugitive methane emissions covering the entire spectrum of methane emissions on LNG-fuelled vessels.
Jerome Cousin, SVP Shipping at TotalEnergies, commented:
“As the world’s third-largest LNG player, we are delighted to be joining the MAMII initiative and contribute our expertise in reducing the emissions all along the gas value chain. It is key for TotalEnergies to further improve the environmental benefits of LNG as a marine fuel, already a major decarbonization lever for the maritime industry.”
Steve Price, MAMII Programme Director, said:
“The inclusion of Chevron, Seapeak, and TotalEnergies signifies a collective commitment to overcoming the challenges of methane slip in LNG. Their participation reinforces MAMII’s role in driving impactful change within the maritime sector, steering us towards a more environmentally responsible shipping industry.”
