Renewable methanol as a fuel for the shipping industry

Maritime shipping is essential in global trade. The shipping industry uses fossil fuel with significant environmental impact as a result and a transition to renewable fuels may be part of the solution to reduce emissions. A fuel transition needs to be understood at all stages of the supply chain, ranging from feedstock to use in ships’ engines. The purpose of this paper is to do a synthesis of literature to provide an overview of main challenges and opportunities along potential supply chains of renewable methanol for maritime shipping, with a focus on bio-methanol. It is shown that renewable methanol is a technically viable option to reduce emissions from shipping and there are no major challenges with potential supply chains. Minor economic barriers that currently exist have the potential to be overcome with strengthening of environmental targets for shipping or if fuel oil prices revert to higher levels as seen previously.