While most people never see its logo, French group Gaztransport et Technigaz (GTT) has begun 2026 with a rush of orders that underline just how central liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipping has become to global energy security.
A low-profile French giant riding the LNG wave
GTT is far from a household name in France, the UK or the US, and yet its technology sits inside a huge share of the world’s LNG tankers. These tankers move super-chilled gas across oceans, replacing pipeline flows and giving countries more flexibility over where they buy their energy.
Instead of building ships themselves, GTT sells high-tech membranes and designs for cryogenic storage tanks. These tanks keep LNG at around –163°C, in thin-walled boxes that must stay perfectly sealed while the ship bends, vibrates and slams into heavy seas for decades.
GTT’s membranes turn a steel hull into a giant thermos, squeezing more LNG into less space while slashing energy losses.
This niche happens to sit right where countries are looking for options. LNG is still a fossil fuel, but it emits less CO₂ than coal and oil when burned. That makes it a bridge fuel for governments trying to decarbonise without shutting down their economies overnight.
Nine massive LNG carriers booked in the first days of 2026
The signal at the start of January 2026 has been loud: demand for LNG carriers is not fading. Within just a few days, shipyards in South Korea locked in orders for nine new LNG megaships, all of them using GTT’s latest Mark III Flex membrane system.
Two cutting-edge ships with Samsung Heavy Industries
On 8 January 2026, Samsung Heavy Industries confirmed an order for two new-generation LNG carriers. Delivery is scheduled between the third quarter of 2028 and the first quarter of 2029, underscoring how full big yards’ calendars have become.
These ships will feature the Mark III Flex system, tailored for very large cargo volumes and tighter environmental rules. The design brings down LNG evaporation, known in the industry as “boil-off”, which can otherwise cost shipowners money and increase emissions.
Seven more tankers with Hanwha Ocean
Just days earlier, rival Korean yard Hanwha Ocean announced a larger batch: seven LNG carriers ordered by a European shipowner, again with GTT’s Mark III Flex onboard. These vessels are due between late 2027 and late 2029.
Across the nine ships, analysts estimate roughly €90 million of revenue for GTT from technology licences and related engineering services, based on a ballpark of €10 million per vessel for its cryogenic containment system. The company has not confirmed that figure, but it lines up with past orders.
Nine LNG giants in one week show how shipyards, owners and charterers remain convinced that global LNG trade will stay strong well into the 2030s.
Mark III Flex: more than just a giant fuel tank
The Mark III Flex system is not a simple metal box bolted inside a hull. It is an integrated architecture that blends structural engineering, materials science and thermodynamics.
- A thin stainless-steel or nickel-steel primary membrane holds the LNG.
- Behind it, multiple layers of insulation keep the cold in and the heat out.
- Sensors track temperature, deformation and leaks in real time.
- Software models how the tank behaves as the ship moves and the cargo sloshes.
That combination seeks to cut boil-off gas to a minimum. Less evaporation means more LNG delivered to the buyer, fewer greenhouse gas emissions and better returns for the shipowner. On a modern 170,000–180,000 cubic metre LNG carrier, shaving off just a fraction of a percent in losses per day can make a noticeable difference over a 20–30 year lifetime.
South Korean shipyards at the heart of LNG build-out
All these ships are coming out of South Korea, which has become the main industrial base for LNG carrier construction. Samsung Heavy Industries, Hanwha Ocean and their compatriots hold deep orderbooks, often stretching several years ahead.
For GTT, long-running partnerships with these shipbuilders create a strong pipeline of work. Once a yard and a shipowner choose its technology, GTT stays involved from early design reviews through to construction support and long-term monitoring.
Behind each contract sits years of engineering, on-site supervision and digital follow-up, turning a one-off licence into recurring business.
Teams of French and international engineers work alongside Korean shipyard staff, overseeing the installation of the membranes, testing the tanks and training crews on how to operate and maintain the systems safely.
From record growth in 2024 to robust expectations for 2026
GTT’s financial trajectory helps explain the enthusiasm around these orders. Between 2021 and 2025, the company’s revenue grew by roughly 167%, fuelled by the LNG tanker boom and new service lines.
| Year | Approx. revenue | Annual growth |
| 2021 | ~€290m | — |
| 2022 | ~€320m | +10% |
| 2023 | ~€420m | +31% |
| 2024 | ~€625m | +49% |
| 2025 (estimate) | ~€775m | +24% |
Growth eased a little in 2025 after the surge of 2024, yet still remained high by industrial standards, backed by a record orderbook for large LNG carriers.
Beyond LNG: digital services and new fuels
GTT is also working hard to avoid becoming a pure LNG bet. The company has spent the last few years expanding into digital services such as onboard data collection, performance analytics and fuel consumption optimisation tools for shipowners.
These software and monitoring services create recurring revenue streams, even when newbuild orders slow. They also give GTT a foothold across thousands of vessels, not just LNG carriers, as owners look to trim fuel bills and meet tightening emissions targets from regulators like the IMO and the EU.
Another front is new gases. The same cryogenic engineering expertise used for LNG is being adapted to handle ammonia, liquid hydrogen and other alternative fuels. These are still emerging markets, with many technical and safety challenges, but they are seen as key for deep decarbonisation of shipping and heavy industry.
From LNG today to ammonia and hydrogen tomorrow, GTT is positioning its membranes and digital tools as a kind of standard for cold, complex fuels at sea.
What LNG carriers actually do for energy security
For readers outside the shipping or energy sectors, LNG tankers can sound abstract. In practical terms, these ships act like mobile pipelines. They let countries in Europe or Asia switch suppliers when politics, wars or price spikes disrupt pipeline flows.
After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, for instance, Europe turned to LNG imports from the US, Qatar and others. That shift would have been impossible without enough tankers equipped for safe, long voyages with minimal losses. Each new ship equipped by GTT adds more flexibility to that system.
Risks and questions around LNG’s longer-term future
Despite the strong order flow, LNG is not a risk-free bet. Public policy could change as climate targets tighten. Some activists argue that heavy investment in LNG infrastructure “locks in” fossil fuel use beyond what climate science recommends.
Shipowners also face long investment cycles. An LNG carrier can operate for 30 years, but policy, fuel prices and technology can shift fast. A future where green ammonia or hydrogen become widely available could reduce the need for some LNG routes, even if that scenario still looks distant today.
From GTT’s perspective, that uncertainty explains the push into digital optimisation and new-fuel containment systems. If LNG demand plateaus or declines after the 2030s, the company aims to keep selling tank technologies and software for whatever cold, tricky fuels come next.
Key terms that help make sense of the sector
A couple of concepts help frame how this French specialist is making money:
- Boil-off gas (BOG): A fraction of the LNG that warms up and evaporates inside the tank. In older ships, BOG was often burned in the engine. Newer designs try to cut it down or reliquefy it, because wasted cargo is lost revenue.
- Cryogenic membrane: A thin, flexible wall, directly attached to the ship’s inner hull, that holds the LNG. It replaces traditional heavy, self-standing tanks and allows for more cargo in the same hull volume.
- Licence model: GTT does not build tanks itself. It sells the design, know-how and supervision services to shipyards, charging per ship. That keeps capital needs low while preserving high margins.
For energy investors, the early 2026 orders confirm that a relatively discreet French player has embedded itself inside one of the few shipping segments still enjoying strong, visible demand. Whether LNG remains a long bridge or a shorter detour on the path to net zero, GTT’s cryogenic niche looks set to stay in the spotlight for years to come.
