In four months, this discreet industrial champion from France has sold cryogenic membranes for over 35 giant vessels in 2026.
On April 16, 2026, an announcement went relatively unnoticed in the mainstream press. HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, one of the giants of global shipbuilding, entrusted a small French company with less than 1,000 employees to design the tanks for four new giant methane carriers.
These ships will be built by HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and equipped with the Mark III membrane technology, a 100% French technology. Delivery is expected between the second and fourth quarter of 2029.
Now, why are we talking about this today? Not for this particular contract, but to highlight the exceptional year 2026 that this French company is having, marking the sixteenth of its kind since January 1, 2026.
Also read:
GTT signs its 16th order since the start of 2026 Why is it so complex to transport gas by ship?
Gas, in its “normal” state, is impossible to transport in large quantities by ship. It would take a colossal volume. The solution is to cool it to -163 degrees Celsius. At this temperature, it liquefies, decreasing its volume by about 600 times, becoming what is called LNG (liquefied natural gas). Keeping this gas at this temperature during several weeks of navigation, on a moving ocean, with significant mechanical constraints, is an extraordinary engineering challenge.
A simple thermal leak can cause part of the cargo to evaporate, known as “boil-off.” Managing this phenomenon saves money, reduces emissions, and improves the profitability of the journey. Enter GTT (Gaztransport and Technigaz).
Their cryogenic membranes, a few centimeters thick, line the inside of methane carriers like a highly sophisticated technical skin. Developed since the 1960s in the Paris region, this technology now equips the majority of methane carriers built worldwide.
In the first four months of 2026, GTT announced sixteen orders, totaling over 35 vessels whose tanks will be entrusted to French engineering: giant methane carriers capable of transporting up to 200,000 m³ of LNG, next-generation methane carriers, and even a land storage tank in China.
[Context: The article discusses the success and technological advancements of a French company, GTT, in the field of cryogenic membranes for fuel transport on ships.]
[Fact Check: The article mentions specific statistics and data about GTT’s orders and technological advancements. These details can be verified through official sources or the company’s website.]
