LNG

Gaztransport and Technigaz (GTT), the French LNG storage technology company, has increased its annual list of patent applications made to the Patent and Trademark Office in France, l’Institut National de la Propriété Industrielle.

The GTT group said it filed a total of 64 patents in 2023, an increase compared with 2022, thus maintaining its position as a technological leader in the category of intermediate-sized enterprises (ETIs) in France.

With 61 patents filed with the INPI, GTT said it secured the second position in the 2023 INPI ranking of patent-filing ETIs.

GTT also filed three more patents with the European Patent Office (EPO) in 2023.

Broadening technology

The group’s order book has designs for GTT storage and conventional carriers and containment tanks for LNG-powered vessels.

GTT’s earnings come from its technology licensing, hence the importance of the patents pipeline.

“Over the past decade, GTT's technological solutions have played a significant role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions from LNG carriers and optimizing the energy performance of its ship-owner clients,” explained the Paris-based company.

GTT’s core business has been centred around designs for tanks such as the Mark III membrane containment system.

However, GTT said it was now implementing an “ambitious innovation roadmap” in its adjacent markets and in its digital activities, as well as in the field of “zero-carbon” solutions at the subsidiary Elogen.

“With 61 patents filed with INPI and three patents filed with the European Patent Office, 2023 confirms the group's position of excellence in innovation and R&D and underlines GTT's technological stance,” said Philippe Berterottière, Chairman and Chief Executive of GTT.

“I would like to extend my congratulations to Soitec for claiming the top spot in 2023 with 62 patents filed in France, and I am pleased to witness the dynamic technological innovation among French mid-sized companies,” stated Berterottière.

He was referring to France's Soitec SA, a company that is involved in the microelectronics industry, designing and manufacturing innovative semiconductor materials.

It was also previously well known for licensing the patents for organisations such as French Atomic Energy Commission.

Gaztransport and Technigaz (GTT), the French maritime LNG storage technology company, has named Jean-Baptiste Choimet to the position of Chief Executive of GTT as part of a new strategy to adopt more green policy governance.

GTT said that Choimet was scheduled to take up his post on June 12, 2024.

Aged 42, Choimet is a graduate of one of France’s grande école, the Ecole Polytechnique, and is a graduate in Advanced Chemical Engineering Practice from Cambridge University in England.

Jean-Baptiste Choimet joined the GTT group in 2020 and became Managing Director of Elogen, a subsidiary of the Group specializing in design and manufacturing of electrolysers to produce green hydrogen.

Background

Hydrogen energy has gathered substantial support from industry, government and the public to position it as a pivotal future fuel source.

However, its commercial realisation faces significant hurdles, including slow infrastructure growth and the high cost of producing clean hydrogen solely from renewable energy sources like wind and solar.

In his earlier career, Choimet also contributed to the development of the Dunkirk LNG terminal project by French utilty EDF before joining French banking group Société Générale to create the LNG trading desk.

In 2012, he joined French LNG engineering company Technip, where he held commercial functions and worked on major LNG projects in Australia and Russia.

He joined the Bouygues Construction group in 2019 where he oversaw operations for the deployment of telecoms networks.

GTT said that the decision to appoint Choimet to replace Philippe Berterottière, the currently CEO, was taken “unanimously by the Board of GTT and “as the culmination of a rigorous selection process” led by the Appointments and Remuneration Committee, chaired by Catherine Ronge.

“Furthermore, so that GTT can continue to benefit from the experience and commitment of Philippe Berterottière to the success of the group, the Board of will renew the latter in his role as Chairman of the Board for the remaining period of his term of office as director,” GTT explained.

Paris-based GTT stated that these decisions were part of the separation of the functions of Chairman and CEO decided by the GTT Board of Directors on February 17, 2022.

“The new governance of the GTT group will take effect on June 12, 2024,” GTT said.

Catherine Ronge, head of the nominations and committee, said that as part of a demanding process initiated several months ago, the committee had reviewed several high-quality applications.

“The managerial and professional skills, particularly in the key areas of LNG and hydrogen, the personal qualities and achievements of Jean-Baptiste Choimet in the General Management of Elogen were assessed by the Board as particularly in line with GTT's requirements and the group's development strategy,” Ronge declared.

“Jean-Baptiste Choimet's sustained involvement with the Group and its teams will constitute an essential asset to ensure a seamless transition, within the framework of the new governance of the GTT group,” she added.

Strategy

Outgoing CEO Berterottière said he was proud of the ambitious development strategy pursued by the GTT group, both in its core business and in its new markets.

“Faithful to its purpose, GTT has been able to initiate an in-depth transformation to support its clients in facing their future challenges and contribute to building, with them, a sustainable world,” stated Berterottière.

“I am delighted with the appointment of Jean-Baptiste Choimet to accelerate GTT’s progress in this direction,” he added.

“Together, we share the same passion for technology and innovation, as well as a strong attachment to the GTT group, which I will be proud to continue to serve, alongside him, in my role as President,” added Berterottière.

Future CEO Choimet thanked the board for the trust in him it had demonstrated.

“I look forward to working with all the teams of the GTT group and to being supported in this great mission by Philippe Berterottière, with whom I have worked in trust for more than three years,” declared Choimet.

“I approach this new role with enthusiasm at the head of a group which is today a leading global technological player in the maritime and energy world,” he stated.

“I will be keen to mobilize the teams to continue and accelerate the evolution of the GTT group towards the technologies the world will need in the coming decades,” the incoming CEO added.

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