At the recent CMA Shipping conference in Stamford, CT, U.S. Grains & BioProducts Council (USGBC) Senior Manager of Global Ethanol Export Development Ankit Chandra engaged with stakeholders across the alcohol fuels ecosystem, including the Methanol Institute, to explore opportunities for collaboration.
As a follow-up to the meeting, Chandra wrote a report about the applications for ethanol as a marine fuel to develop interest in U.S. biofuels internationally. This is an abbreviated version, with the full report available on the Council’s website.
“The conversation around alternative marine fuels is moving quickly, but doesn’t always reflect how fuel markets actually evolve. This report is about bringing the discussion back to what’s already in motion, fuels that are being produced at scale, traded globally and can be deployed without starting from zero,” Chandra said.
“It also speaks to a broader gap we see often, which is connecting feedstock systems to fuel use, where ethanol has a clear, practical role in the near term. Importantly, ethanol is an alcohol fuel, with many similarities to methanol but is often grouped into broader biofuels categories in policy discussions, which can miss how it fits into the maritime fuel conversation.”
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.
Within this evolving landscape, alcohol fuels, particularly methanol and ethanol, are increasingly emerging as practical transition options.
Data from Det Norske Veritas’ Alternative Fuels Insight platform indicates the global marine cargo fleet now includes roughly 77 methanol-capable vessels in operation and more than 350 on order. Methanol has emerged as the second-largest alternative marine fuel pathway after liquid natural gas (LNG), with continued growth expected throughout the decade.
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 to 16 billion gallons of ethanol annually, with approximately two billion gallons of additional nameplate capacity available. This is supported by nearly 200 biorefineries, extensive rail and storage infrastructure and established global export channels.
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, that may require cryogenic storage, specialized containment or entirely new bunkering systems.
Shipowners will ultimately evaluate fuels based on cost, reliability and regulatory compliance, and alcohol fuels offer several operational advantages. Established liquid fuel logistics networks provide a foundation for supply development, while dual-fuel vessel configurations introduce flexibility in fuel sourcing and operations.
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 percent 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, one billion gallons of additional ethanol demand corresponds to roughly 350–360 million bushels of corn utilization.
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.