Page 50: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (August 2025)

FUEL TRANSITION

GREEN METHANOL:

A SCALABLE DECARBONIZATION

PATH FOR MARITIME SHIPPING

By Alexander Koukoulas, Ph.D., AFRY Management Consulting aritime shipping, responsible for nearly 3% of has introduced the FuelEU Maritime regulation, which sets global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, stands GHG intensity reduction requirements of 2% in 2025, 6% by at a pivotal crossroads. Regulatory demands are 2030, and 80% by 2050.

intensifying, customer expectations are shift- Additionally, the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS)

M ing, and energy markets are in ? ux. In this environment, green now includes maritime emissions, with 100% of emissions methanol is emerging as the only truly scalable low-carbon on intra-EU voyages and 50% of extra-EU voyages cov- fuel solution in the short- to medium-term. ered by 2026.

The combined effect of these measures is clear: shipping companies must act now or face steep compliance costs, re-

The Regulatory Tidal Wave

Shipping is no longer exempt from the decarbonization duced competitiveness, and reputational risk.

mandates reshaping global transportation. At the international level, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has ad- Why Green Methanol?

opted increasingly ambitious greenhouse gas (GHG) reduc- Among the array of low-carbon marine fuels, green metha- tion targets, including a 20% reduction by 2030 (with an aspi- nol — produced either from biomass (bio-methanol) or re- ration to reach 30%), a 70% reduction by 2040, and net-zero newable electricity and captured CO2 (e-methanol) — offers emissions by 2050. Complementing this, the European Union a uniquely viable path forward (see Figure 1). Unlike hydro-

FIGURE 1: Pathway options for methanol production from fossil and renewable feedstocks, highlighting competing end uses in fuels, chemicals, and materials markets.

50 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News • August 2025

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