By Ankit Chandra, Senior Manager of Global Ethanol Export Development, U.S. Grains & BioProducts Council
The global shipping industry is entering a period of structural fuel transition. International shipping consumes roughly 300 million tons of fuel annually, and pressure to reduce emissions is intensifying across regulatory, financial and cargo-owner channels. For shipowners, the immediate challenge is twofold—identifying future zero-carbon fuels, while also advancing fuel pathways that can scale within this decade without compromising operational reliability or cost competitiveness.
Within this evolving landscape, alcohol fuels, particularly methanol and ethanol, are increasingly emerging as practical transition options.
At the recent CMA Shipping conference in Stamford, the U.S. Grains & BioProducts Council (USGBC) engaged with stakeholders across the alcohol fuels ecosystem, including the Methanol Institute, to explore opportunities for collaboration. Both organizations recognize that enabling a level playing field for alternative marine fuels will be essential as the industry evaluates fuel pathways capable of delivering economical emissions reductions at scale.
Growing Momentum for Alcohol Fuels
Data from DNV’s Alternative Fuels Insight platform indicates that the global fleet now includes roughly 77 methanol-capable vessels in operation and more than 350 on order, bringing the total pipeline to over 430 vessels. Methanol has emerged as the second-largest alternative marine fuel pathway after liquid natural gas (LNG), with continued growth expected throughout the decade.
This expansion reflects a broader shift by shipowners toward dual-fuel propulsion systems, which allow vessels to transition toward lower-carbon fuels while retaining operational flexibility. In 2025, methanol accounted for roughly one-fifth of all alternative-fuel vessel orders, signaling sustained industry interest.
Major engine manufacturers have commercialized dual-fuel methanol engines across multiple vessel classes, with commercial deployments already underway. This has broader implications for the alcohol fuel family. Many alcohol-fuel engine architectures share similar combustion characteristics, meaning ethanol could be adopted with relatively modest adjustments to fuel systems. This creates fuel optionality, allowing shipowners to diversify supply sources while managing uncertainty during the transition.
Expanding the Alcohol Fuel Opportunity with Ethanol
While methanol has led early deployment, ethanol offers several structural advantages that merit closer consideration as alcohol fuel markets evolve.
The emergence of methanol-capable vessels and engines has effectively established alcohol fuels as a viable propulsion pathway. In that context, ethanol should be viewed as a complementary fuel within the broader alcohol fuel ecosystem.
One of ethanol’s key advantages is production scale. The United States produces roughly 15–16 billion gallons of ethanol annually, with approximately 2 billion gallons of additional nameplate capacity available. This is supported by nearly 200 biorefineries, extensive rail and storage infrastructure, and established global export channels.
Unlike several emerging maritime fuels that remain constrained by early-stage supply chains, ethanol is already produced, transported and traded at scale, with existing storage and handling infrastructure across major export terminals.
Infrastructure and Operational Considerations
From a logistics standpoint, ethanol’s fuel characteristics align well with maritime operational requirements.
As a liquid fuel stable at ambient temperature and pressure, ethanol can be stored, transported, and handled using infrastructure broadly comparable to existing liquid fuel systems. This contrasts with fuels such as hydrogen or ammonia, which may require cryogenic storage, specialized containment, or entirely new bunkering systems.
For ports and fuel suppliers, the ability to integrate new fuels into existing logistics networks is an advantage. Ethanol’s handling characteristics allow supply chains to evolve incrementally rather than requiring wholesale infrastructure replacement.
Economic Considerations for Shipowners
Shipowners will ultimately evaluate fuels based on cost, reliability, and regulatory compliance.
Alcohol fuels offer several operational advantages in this context. Established liquid fuel logistics networks provide a foundation for supply development, while dual-fuel vessel configurations introduce flexibility in fuel sourcing and operations.
This also introduces fuel optionality. Dual-fuel vessels capable of operating alcohol fuels allow operators to adapt to changing fuel availability, pricing dynamics, and regulatory requirements, helping mitigate investment risk.
Maritime Fuel Transition and U.S. Industrial Priorities
The maritime fuel transition is tied to broader themes like industrial policy, supply chain resilience and rural economic development in the United States. As policymakers explore ways to strengthen domestic shipbuilding capacity and reinforce maritime infrastructure, the question of reliable fuel supply becomes part of that conversation.
Ethanol occupies a unique position in this context. The United States is the world’s largest producer and exporter of ethanol, and the domestic industry is deeply integrated with the agricultural economy. Each year, U.S. ethanol producers purchase roughly 5 billion bushels of corn, representing close to 40% of the national corn crop, and support an estimated 350,000 jobs across farming, processing, transportation and related supply chains.
Expanding ethanol use into new sectors could create additional demand channels beyond traditional markets. Even modest penetration into marine fuel markets could translate into meaningful new demand for U.S. agricultural production. Based on typical ethanol yields, 1 billion gallons of additional ethanol demand corresponds to roughly 350–360 million bushels of corn utilization[1].
Viewed in this context, ethanol’s relevance extends beyond emissions reductions. It reflects how emerging maritime fuel markets could integrate with existing industries via agriculture, biofuels, port logistics, and global fuel trade, rather than requiring entirely new supply systems.
A Portfolio Approach to Maritime Fuels
The energy transition in shipping is unlikely to converge around a single fuel pathway. Instead, the industry is likely to adopt a portfolio of energy carriers, with different fuels playing complementary roles as technologies mature and supply chains develop.
Alcohol fuels, including methanol and ethanol, offer one of the most practical pathways for near-term emissions reductions while maintaining operational flexibility for shipowners. Ensuring regulatory frameworks, fuel standards and policy incentives evaluate these fuels on a technology-neutral basis will be essential to unlocking their full potential.
As the maritime industry advances toward lower emissions, scalable fuels that can be deployed today will play a critical role. Ethanol, supported by the strength of the U.S. agricultural economy, an established industrial base, and global trade networks, is well positioned to contribute to that transition.
[1] 1 bushel of corn ~2.8 gallons ethanol. So, 1 gallon ethanol requires ~0.357 bushels of corn.
Thus, 1 billion gallons of ethanol demand = 1,000,000,000/2.8 = 357,000,000 bushels.