# MEMA study: US ethanol can fuel 300+ methanol-capable ships using existing engines

- Published: 2026-11-12 06:09 UTC
- Section: Power & Energy › Transport
- Tags: marine ethanol, ethanol bunkering, methanol-capable vessels, dual-fuel engines, US ethanol capacity, Global Centre for Green Fuels, Tangier Maersk, shipping emissions, IMO Net-Zero Framework
- URL: https://realtech.media/news/rt-b3eb4762a6501decab90880f_mema_study_us/

**MEMA says ethanol can run in dual-fuel methanol engines with limited modification, and US plants have about 2 billion gallons a year of spare capacity.**

![MEMA study: US ethanol can fuel 300+ methanol-capable ships using existing engines](https://realtech.media/media/2026/11/da776988d5df786e.jpg)
*DAVIDRADICH at English Wikipedia, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain*

The Maritime Ethanol & Methanol Alliance (MEMA), a platform of the Global Centre for Green Fuels (GCGF), published a study in Singapore on 11 November 2026, as reported by prnewswire.com. According to the study, *Marine Ethanol: Unlocking the US Opportunity*, ethanol can use the dual-fuel engines and bunkering infrastructure built for methanol with limited modification [1]. It can support more than 300 methanol-capable vessels in service or on order, either on its own or blended with methanol [1].

## US supply and shipping demand

US plants can produce 18.5 billion gallons of ethanol a year against 2025 output of 16.4 billion gallons, leaving around 2 billion gallons of spare capacity [1]. The US produces just over half of the world's fuel ethanol and exports to around 80 countries, largely through Gulf Coast terminals that are also major bunkering hubs [1].

International shipping burns around 300 million tonnes of fuel a year, worth an estimated US$180 billion. In the study's illustrative scenarios, ethanol meeting 1% of that fuel by mass would require around 1 billion gallons, while a 5% share by the mid-2030s would require around 5 billion gallons [1].

On 28 September, Tangier Maersk completed a commercial ship-to-ship bunkering of US corn ethanol in Houston, the first publicly announced US ethanol bunkering of a deep-sea container vessel [1]. The International Maritime Organization is expected to decide next steps on its Net-Zero Framework at an extraordinary session on 4 December, directly after MEPC 85 [1].

## Fuel properties and emissions

The study assesses ethanol at technology readiness level 8–9. Compared with heavy fuel oil, ethanol virtually eliminates sulphur oxide emissions, cuts nitrogen oxides by 40–94% depending on engine technology, and reduces particulate matter by 90–99%, without scrubbers [1]. Its net production cost, after co-product revenue, is below US$1 a gallon [1].

Ethanol (C₂H₅OH) is liquid at ambient temperature and pressure and has an octane rating of 108. Its lower heating value is 26.8 MJ/kg, against 42.8 MJ/kg for marine gas oil and 19.9 MJ/kg for methanol [1].

ABS provided the technical analysis as Knowledge Partner, and US producer Marquis Energy gave industry input; the views and recommendations are those of MEMA [1]. GCGF Managing Director Clarence Woo said the next challenge is consistency: standardised, fungible marine fuel specifications, traceable feedstocks and a robust chain of custody [1].

## Sources

1. [prnewswire.com](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/us-ethanol-readily-available-to-fuel-the-worlds-methanol-capable-fleet-study-finds-302936300.html)

---

Source: RealTech, realtech.media — https://realtech.media/news/rt-b3eb4762a6501decab90880f_mema_study_us/