The Society for Gas as a Marine Fuel (SGMF) has published a life cycle assessment (LCA) of methanol as a marine fuel, the third fuel-specific study in its series following earlier assessments of LNG and ammonia.

Key Points

• SGMF describes the study as the first ISO-compliant life cycle assessment of methanol as a marine fuel
• Fifteen production pathways were assessed by consultancy WSP, with results across four-stroke and two-stroke engines
• The publication follows the third LNG LCA, released in April, and the first ammonia LCA, published in 2024
• The full report, executive summary, and infographic are free to download from SGMF

The study, carried out by consultancy WSP, evaluates 15 methanol production pathways and finds that methanol made using renewable energy can deliver substantial greenhouse gas reductions, SGMF said in an emailed press release on Wednesday.

According to SGMF, the work is the first full ISO-compliant LCA of methanol as a marine fuel. It follows ISO 14040 and ISO 14044, is aligned with the IMO's 2024 life cycle assessment guidelines, and was critically reviewed by industry experts and academics under ISO 14071.

The emissions calculations cover a range of engine types, including medium-speed four-stroke and low-speed two-stroke engines, with each pathway carrying its own carbon intensity.

The organisation noted that an LCA is a snapshot at a point in time and said regular updates will be needed as the technology develops. It added that further production-specific pathways, including co-processing, could offer additional reductions and may warrant assessment.

"SGMF is the only fuel-agnostic NGO with a proven track on providing clear and fact-based information to the maritime industry, covering technical and environmental aspects of future marine fuels," said SGMF general manager and chief operating officer Mark Bell.

"We therefore take pride in being the first organisation that conducted a high-quality full LCA on methanol as a marine fuel, complementing our portfolio of marine fuel LCAs."

SGMF's third LNG assessment, published in April, put the tank-to-wake greenhouse gas saving for LNG against 0.1% sulphur MGO at up to 29%, while its first ammonia study, released in June 2024, found well-to-wake reductions of up to 61% depending on the engine technology.

With methanol now assessed, SGMF's LCA portfolio covers all three of the alternative marine fuels it has studied to date, giving the industry a fuel-agnostic, fact-based reference spanning LNG, ammonia, and methanol.

The findings also arrive as the fuel's presence in the fleet grows. By SGMF's own count, there are 134 methanol-fuelled vessels in operation and 135 on order, served by 13 methanol bunker vessels and five ports supplying the fuel — a scale that makes the pathway-level distinctions in the study central to the greenhouse gas performance of the methanol actually supplied.

The full report, executive summary, and infographic are available to download free of charge via SGMF's resources page.

Reporting by the Ship & Bunker News Team. Original article: Ship & Bunker.