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Ethanol demand

Ethanol is a potential (low)-carbon energy carrier for maritime shipping, with relative high energy density and low impact on ship design.

Alternative fuelsMarine shipping

Introduction

Ethanol is a potential (low)-carbon energy carrier for maritime shipping, based on the emission reduction potential (when bio- or e-ethanol), the relative high energy density and low impact on the ship design compared to other alternatives. Ethanol is commonly used in road transport. There it can be blended (in many countries of Europe) or used as 100% fuel (in some countries, like Brazil). As the use of ethanol in marine shipping is a new development and we do not see any developments in inland shipping, the focus of this factsheet is on the marine shipping segment.

Value proposition

  • Mature market for production

Application of ethanol is foreseen with dual-fuel engines (refitted methanol engines, with Marine gas Oil (MGO) as a pilot fuel). The main advantage of ethanol is that there is already a mature market for production of sustainable ethanol, as it is currently used as a bioblend for petrol passenger cars (E10/E5). Ethanol is not suitable as a blending fuel for diesel (gasoil), MGO or Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO).

Port applicability

Ethanol is currently mainly considered as a potential maritime fuel, and thus mainly relevant for maritime ports. Since the first vessels are currently in development and the first tests and operations have already been carried out, it is expected to be relevant from the medium term. In August 2026, there are no known pilots in development for application of ethanol in inland navigation. Technically, it would be possible to modify methanol dual fuel engines towards ethanol. It is thus only may become relevant to inland ports in the medium to long term.

Groups of innovations

  • (modified) methanol dual-fuel vessels

    Some first tests have been performed with sailing on ethanol. These were all conducted on (modified) methanol dual-fuel vessels. Maersk did a test sailing a vessel with different blends of methanol/ ethanol fuel. The ship was able to perform on 100% ethanol (Ship & Bunker 2026). In May 2026, the first bunkering of ethanol was performed in the port of Rotterdam, for a ship that sailed with a blend of 90% methanol and 10% ethanol.

  • Dedicated ethanol dual-fuel ore carriers

    In the same month, an order for two dedicated ethanol dual-fuel ore carriers was announced (the engines are modifications of methanol engines with different fuel supply and injection systems). Note that sailing on ethanol should not be confused with sailing on ethane.

  • Ethane combined with conventional fuels

    There are currently also vessels in development that can sail on ethane combined with HFO or MGO. These are however all LGP/ Ethane vessels (the vessels are foreseen to sail partly on their own cargo).

Impact

Impact level per aspect
ImpactLevelRemark
GHG (tank-to-wake)Medium impact
Limited impact on tank-to-wake GHG emissions, since the fuel is still being combusted on board
GHG emissions (well-to-wake)Large impact
Depends on the feedstock that is used
Air pollutionLimited impact

Port characteristics

Especially suited for marine shipping in sea ports.

Barriers and enablers

Enablers

  • SupplyEnabler

    Supply of sustainable ethanol may be less of an issue compared to other sustainable maritime energy carriers, due to the already mature market for bioethanol as a blend in petrol fuel.

  • InfrastructureEnabler

    Widespread availability of bunkering facilities throughout Europe is an important precondition for a large adaptation by the sector. In some energy ports, there are existing ethanol storage facilities available (for instance in the Dutch ports of Amsterdam and Rotterdam). These facilities can be used for distribution and supplying neighbouring ports.

Barriers

  • EconomicBarrier

    First movers for applying ethanol in shipping risk high cost in case of slow or insufficient uptake of ethanol as a marine fuel. Using ethanol as a marine fuel enables emission reduction in the short term. A main challenge to overcome however is the so-called “valley of death” between scientific innovation and commercial adoption. Early adaptors that implement ethanol will face relatively high additional costs and operational uncertainties.

  • Standards & regulationBarrier

    A possible hinderance in the availability of bio-ethanol are restrictions in the use of first generation feedstocks for fuel production. The Renewed Energy Directive has a maximum of 7% first generation feedstocks on the total energy use for transport. This limits growth of a part of the current bioethanol feedstocks.

How to implement?

  1. Step 1

    Research demand

  2. Step 2

    Prepare pilot

  3. Step 3

    First incidental requests

  4. Step 4

    Scale up

Timeline

The arrow below represents the expected development of the TRL of ethanol demand.
* Technical Readiness Level

What should a port do in the next 3 years?

Implementation may come from methanol fueled vessels that use ethanol as a blend (10% and upwards), or from dedicated ethanol vessels. Short term implemendtation is therefore most likely applicable for ports that are already facilitating methanol ships and bunkering. Long term uptake is uncertain and depends on the development of the key enablers and barriers. For ports, a similar bunkering uptake strategy can be used as for LNG and the Port readiness level can be used as guidance for implementing. First incidental bunkering requests could be met via a short sea vessel or inland barge from another port. When demand become structural, dedicated bunkering infrastructure (such as combined methanol/ ethanol bunkering barges) may be desired.

Investment overview

CAPEX: investments include retrofits and newbuilt ships. OPEX: includes the cost of ethanol.

Stakeholder overview

Below is an overview of the required involved stakeholders.
Blue stakeholders are essential, white stakeholders are enabling

Knowledge base