In four months, this discreet industrial champion of France has sold the cryogenic membranes for over 35 giant ships in 2026.
On April 16, 2026, a relatively unnoticed announcement was made in the mainstream press. HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, one of the giants of the global shipbuilding industry, entrusted a small French company with less than 1,000 employees to design the tanks for four new giant LNG carriers.
These ships will be built by HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and equipped with the French 100% technology membrane Mark III. Delivery is scheduled between the second and fourth quarters of 2029.
So, if we are talking about this today, it is not for this particular contract, but to highlight the exceptional year of 2026 that the French company is experiencing, which was the sixteenth of its kind since January 1, 2026.
GTT has signed its 16th orders since the beginning of the year 2026. Why is it so complex to transport gas by ship? Natural gas, in its “normal” state, is impossible to transport in bulk by ship.
It takes up a colossal volume. The solution is to cool it to around -163 degrees Celsius. At this temperature, it liquefies, reducing its volume by about 600 times to become what is called LNG (liquefied natural gas). Then, it can be loaded into the tank of a ship in tens of thousands of cubic meters.
The problem is maintaining this gas at this temperature during several weeks of navigation, on a moving ocean, with huge mechanical constraints – it is an extraordinary engineering challenge.
A simple thermal leak and part of the cargo vaporizes. Engineers call it “boil-off”. Limiting this phenomenon saves money, reduces emissions, and improves the profitability of the journey.
This is where GTT (Gaztransport et Technigaz) comes in. Their cryogenic membranes, only a few centimeters thick, line the inside of the LNG carriers’ hulls like a highly sophisticated technical skin.
This technology, developed in the Paris region since the 1960s, now equips the vast majority of LNG carriers built worldwide.
Amidst all this, GTT managed to secure contracts for over 35 ships and one land storage tank in 2026, marking a remarkable year for the company.
The Mark III Flex technology, which is the primary technology in the ships ordered in 2026, is not a simple tank. It is a complete architecture comprising a primary membrane, multiple insulation layers, and a secondary safety membrane.
Each millimeter of this architecture has been perfected over decades of research. Replicating this without the patents, expertise, and trained teams is simply impossible in the short term.
GTT’s economic model focuses on selling technological licenses to shipyards, offering engineering, technical support, and operational assistance.
This “asset-light” model has been remarkably profitable, and the revenue has been steadily increasing over the years.
Furthermore, GTT has started diversifying into digital maritime solutions, positioning itself as a leader in “smart shipping”.
GTT’s success story showcases the power of French expertise in dominating global markets through innovation and protection of intellectual property.
(Source: INPI, Wikipedia, GTT)
