# LNG chain: Technology advances

Floating plants, floating terminals and electric-drive liquefaction

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_lng/advances/

What this tab covers The newest technologies in service or close to adoption, what each improves, and how the main options compare.

Recent progress has cut boil-off, shrunk ship fuel use, moved liquefaction offshore, and started replacing gas turbines with electric motors.

#### Latest advances
**Low boil-off membrane tanks** in service · approval 2020 onwards

Thicker, better insulation such as GTT NO96 Super+^[7](https://gtt.fr/no96-super)

*Improves:* Guaranteed boil-off fell from 0.15% per day in 2010 to as low as 0.07%
**Dual-fuel two-stroke engines** in service · 2024 order book

X-DF, ME-GA and ME-GI engines burning boil-off gas efficiently^[2](https://www.connaissancedesenergies.org/sites/connaissancedesenergies.org/files/pdf-actualites/1763396210-1747916410-igu-world-lng-report-2025.pdf)

*Improves:* Lower fuel use and higher charter value than old steam turbine ships (about 209 X-DF, 83 ME-GA and 21 ME-GI on order)
**Electric-drive liquefaction (e-LNG)** being deployed · 2026 orders in Canada, Qatar and Australia

Electric motors drive refrigeration compressors; Hammerfest in Norway has run all-electric since 2007^[23](https://www.presseportal.de/pm/179189/6272846)^[24](https://new.abb.com/news/detail/124739/the-future-of-lng-electrification-innovation-and-efficiency)

*Improves:* Removes on-site combustion; drive systems up to 95% efficient versus about 35% for gas turbines (vendor figures; overall gain depends on the power source)
**Floating liquefaction (FLNG)** in service · 2025

Liquefaction plants on hulls moored offshore; largest operating units about 3.5 Mtpa, designs up to 5.4 to 6 Mtpa^[25](https://www.gasstrategies.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Perspective_GasStrategies_Sep-2025_Trends-in-FLNG.pdf)

*Improves:* Unlocks offshore fields without onshore plants
**Floating import terminals (FSRUs)** in service · 2025

Ships that store and regasify LNG at the quay^[26](https://www.bracewell.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Floating-LNG-and-FSRUs.pdf)

*Improves:* Fast, lower-capital import capacity; more than 50 active in 2025, about 65 expected by 2030

#### Comparing the options

| Option | Efficiency | Cost | Capacity or distance | Maturity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| **Onshore liquefaction plus carriers**^[8](https://www.ifeu.de/fileadmin/uploads/Publikationen/WPKS-Study_Analysis_of_the_greenhouse_gas_intensities_of_LNG_imports_to_Germany.pdf)^[10](https://gcaptain.com/alaska-lng-could-cost-more-than-double-gulf-coast-rivals-raising-questions-over-economics/) | About 9 to 15% of energy used to liquefy (calculated) | About 0.76 to 1.05 billion USD per Mtpa on the US Gulf Coast | Trains of a few Mtpa; plants up to tens of Mtpa | mature |
| **Floating liquefaction**^[25](https://www.gasstrategies.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Perspective_GasStrategies_Sep-2025_Trends-in-FLNG.pdf) | Similar process energy | Reported as increasingly cost competitive with greenfield onshore plants | 0.7 to about 3.5 Mtpa per unit today | early commercial |
| **Electric-drive liquefaction**^[23](https://www.presseportal.de/pm/179189/6272846) | Higher drive efficiency; emissions depend on grid power | Not published in sources used | Trains of about 2 to 3 Mtpa ordered | being deployed |
| **Onshore import terminal versus FSRU**^[2](https://www.connaissancedesenergies.org/sites/connaissancedesenergies.org/files/pdf-actualites/1763396210-1747916410-igu-world-lng-report-2025.pdf)^[26](https://www.bracewell.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Floating-LNG-and-FSRUs.pdf) | Similar | FSRU capital is much lower, but charter costs can make it dearer over time | Floating terminals held 207.3 Mtpa of capacity at end 2024 | mature |

For a large, long-lived export project with cheap gas on land, onshore trains remain the norm. FLNG suits offshore fields and smaller volumes. FSRUs have become the default for countries that need imports quickly, as Germany did after 2022, at the cost of higher running charges.

#### Sources

1. [2025 World LNG Report](https://www.connaissancedesenergies.org/sites/connaissancedesenergies.org/files/pdf-actualites/1763396210-1747916410-igu-world-lng-report-2025.pdf) International Gas Union, 2025
2. [NO96 Super+](https://gtt.fr/no96-super) GTT, 2024
3. [Analysis of the greenhouse gas intensities of LNG imports to Germany (Munter and Liebich), final report](https://www.ifeu.de/fileadmin/uploads/Publikationen/WPKS-Study_Analysis_of_the_greenhouse_gas_intensities_of_LNG_imports_to_Germany.pdf) ifeu for Wissenschaftsplattform Klimaschutz, 2023
4. [Alaska LNG could cost more than double Gulf Coast rivals, raising questions over economics (Reuters)](https://gcaptain.com/alaska-lng-could-cost-more-than-double-gulf-coast-rivals-raising-questions-over-economics/) gCaptain, 2026
5. [Innomotics accelerates LNG electrification with major eLNG drive orders worldwide (press release)](https://www.presseportal.de/pm/179189/6272846) Innomotics GmbH via news aktuell, 2026
6. [The future of LNG: electrification, innovation and efficiency](https://new.abb.com/news/detail/124739/the-future-of-lng-electrification-innovation-and-efficiency) ABB, 2025
7. [Trends in FLNG (Perspective, September 2025)](https://www.gasstrategies.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Perspective_GasStrategies_Sep-2025_Trends-in-FLNG.pdf) Gas Strategies, 2025
8. [Floating LNG and FSRUs](https://www.bracewell.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Floating-LNG-and-FSRUs.pdf) Bracewell, 2026

## Other sections

- [Summary](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_lng/index.md)
- [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_lng/overview/index.md)
- [Correlation](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_lng/correlation/index.md)
- [How it works](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_lng/explain/index.md)
- [Efficiency and losses](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_lng/efficiency/index.md)
- [Value chain](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_lng/valuechain/index.md)
- [Geopolitics and regulation](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_lng/geopolitics/index.md)
- [Unit economics](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_lng/economics/index.md)
- [Impact on the biosphere](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_lng/biosphere/index.md)
- [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_lng/links/index.md)