While the maritime industry has made significant commitments to decarbonization, progress toward low- and zero-emission fuels has lagged as regulatory uncertainty and delayed adoption of the IMO Net Zero Framework has slowed investment and uptake. At the same time, the industry continues to debate the relative merits of a growing range of alternative fuels–from climate-wrecking liquefied natural gas (LNG) to biofuels and renewable e-fuels–while the window to achieve the IMO’s ambition of reaching net zero emissions “by or around” 2050, continues to narrow.
As the market begins to mature, green methanol (including biomethanol and e-methanol) is emerging as one of the leading pathways for decarbonizing shipping. Recent developments across the value chain offer important signals about how the transition is beginning to move from ambition toward implementation.
Methanol bunkering pilots gain momentum
In May 2026, the container ship Eco Levant safely bunkered a fuel blend consisting of 90% ISCC EU-certified biomethanol and 10% ISCC EU-certified second-generation ethanol at the Port of Rotterdam (more on the nuances of these fuels later). This was one of the first times in the world (and the first time for Rotterdam) that a bunker vessel supplied ethanol to an ocean-going vessel, but the Port has been hard at work scaling its hydrogen infrastructure to become an international hub for hydrogen production, import, application and transport to other countries in Northwest Europe. In recognition of this leadership, A.P. Moller - Maersk held its naming celebration of the dual-fuel methanol ship “Adrian Mærsk” at the Port’s Maasvlakte II terminal in 2025.
In the United States, the Pacific Northwest’s innovation cluster, Maritime Blue, released a green methanol focused Request for Proposals (RFP) under its EPA Clean Ports grant for Powering Maritime Innovation in the Pacific Northwest (PMI). In collaboration with the ports of Seattle and Tacoma, the Northwest Seaport Alliance (NWSA), and American Bureau of Shipping (ABS), Maritime Blue is seeking a naval architecture firm to design a bunker barge with an expected methanol capacity of 30,000-barrels. These designs will serve as a vital tool for identifying operational requirements and safety gaps for green methanol bunkering within the Seattle-Tacoma Gateway.
And in California’s San Pedro Ports, the race is on! The Port of Long Beach announced a $1 million award for the first ocean-going vessel to refill at its harbor with methanol on a commercial scale. The Port is party to multiple green shipping corridors facilitated by C40 Cities, which are working to accelerate the uptake of low- and zero-emission fuels on key Transpacific routes with Shanghai and Singapore. Together with the Port of Los Angeles, the ports have commissioned a Clean Fuels Study and are preparing for a methanol pilot in 2026. But the Port of Long Beach’s first-mover incentive for methanol bunkering is part of its broader commitment to become the world’s first zero-emission port, a vision spearheaded by Port CEO Dr. Noel Hacegaba.
Supply chains are ramping up
In 2023, A.P. Moller-Maersk and Goldwind sparked the methanol movement with the global shipping industry’s first large-scale green methanol offtake agreement. Maersk subsequently signed a long-term bio-methanol offtake agreement with LONGi Green Energy Technology Co., Ltd in 2024. The first volumes from both of these agreements are expected this year. In May 2026, Maersk announced an order for six additional large methanol-powered container vessels, with sights remaining on achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040.
A new partnership between PuriFire Energy and X-Press Feeders will explore the supply of 10,000–15,000 tons per year of bio-methanol from PuriFire’s planned facilities, alongside the co-development of port-based production sites across the UK and Europe. The partnership “aims to create a vertically integrated fuel supply chain that can be replicated across key port locations.”
Earlier in June, the Global Maritime Forum and RMI announced a new consortium to establish a green shipping corridor between the Port of Açu in Brazil and the Port of Antwerp-Bruges in Belgium. The consortium, comprised of the port teams, HIF Global, Fuella, and NYK Line, with Höegh Autoliners and Wallenius Wilhelmsen, will assess infrastructure, vessels, and business models to create a roadmap for transporting zero-carbon fuels produced in Açu, such as e-ammonia or e-methanol. The transport itself would also be powered by the same zero- or near-zero-emission fuels.
A landmark project on India’s east coast is set to establish an RFBNO RED III compliant Green Methanol Export-Oriented Unit (EOU) to support 1 million tons per year. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the Government of Andhra Pradesh and Agatsa Green Fuels commits to the development of the Agastya Green Fuels Hub at India’s east coast Port of Mulapeta. The group also announced a long-term green methanol offtake agreement with SAR Maritime Agencies (PVT) Ltd, establishing one of the largest green methanol supply partnerships in the Indian Ocean region. According to Agastya Group’s LinkedIn post, it “marks a major step toward creating a new green maritime energy corridor connecting India and Sri Lanka.”
And, it is technically feasible
The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) published a technical report, Profiling shipping activities to and from California ports: Greenhouse gas emissions and the technological feasibility of alternative marine fuels, which estimates tank-to-wake (TTW) emissions. The results of ICCT’s technological feasibility assessment finds that “more than 75% of ships that visited California ports in 2022 could have completed all their voyages using methanol and ammonia without a change to their service levels, contingent on cost, fuel availability, available bunkering infrastructure, and ship compatibility.”
Ensuring that methanol delivers climate benefit
Not all methanol is created equal. There are many ways to produce methanol, depending on the feedstocks used. But “green” or renewable methanol is produced only when using renewable energy and feedstocks via one of two routes:
- Bio-methanol is produced from biomass. To mitigate the unintended consequences of harmful biomass supply chains that cause land-use change and indirect land-use change and ensure the sustainability of bio-methanol, it is critical to ensure that feedstocks are themselves sustainable. Potential sustainable feedstocks include: forestry and agricultural waste and by-products, biogas from landfill, sewage, municipal solid waste (MSW) and black liquor from the pulp and paper industry.
- Green e-methanol is synthesised from green hydrogen (i.e., hydrogen produced with renewable energy) and sustainable sources of carbon dioxide (CO2). Sustainable or “carbon neutral” sources of CO2 include bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS), direct air capture (DAC), or industrial byproduct-CO2 captured from existing sustainable or bio-based industrial processes, such as ethanol fermentation or metal processing.
Assessing well-to-wake emissions is crucial.
While green methanol is a promising alternative maritime fuel, a life-cycle assessment of the fuel’s well-to-wake emissions is the only way to ensure the fuel can deliver climate benefits as a low- to net-zero emission fuel. Additionally, scaling the production of green methanol requires consideration of the life-cycle’s environmental and social impacts. Where will production facilities be sited? Are we redirecting fresh water and/or renewable energy for its production? How will the CO2 emissions from combusting methanol be recaptured, stored and/or reused? These and many other questions must be considered proactively as we aim to right the wrongs and harms of the fossil fuel industry’s environmental and social injustices with the clean energy transition.
Photo by: Oleksiy Yeshtokyn. Source: Pexels.