Switching to e-methanol can triple the cost

The introduction of alternative fuels with a low CO2 content in shipping is one of the most important elements for the goal of reducing shipping emissions. But the transition to e-methanol will more than triple bunker costs, shows an analysis from Drewry.

Governments and other political decision-makers will play a leading role in ensuring a level playing field for the shipping companies that are at the forefront of the green transition compared to those that are lagging behind.

Drewry concludes this on the basis of an analysis of the bunker costs of switching to e-methanol compared to the continued use of conventional fuels with associated payment for the purchase of CO2 allowances.

In the first case - the green solution - Drewry estimates that the transition to e-methanol based on current knowledge will increase bunker costs by 350 percent. This corresponds to the price of transporting a 40-foot container from Asia to Europe increasing by $1,047.

In a different way, it will be cheap to continue using conventional fuel and pay 100 euros per ton of CO2 emitted:

"Without a switch to green fuel, the estimated bunker cost and associated CO2-related tax will cause the price of transporting a 40-footer to increase by 35 percent in 2026,” says Philip Damas, head of Drewry Supply Chain Advisors.

According to Offshore Energy, a step in relation to ensuring a more level playing field could be the EU's introduction of a new regulation that must ensure that the greenhouse gas intensity in fuels used by shipping must be gradually reduced over time by 2 percent. in 2025 up to 80 percent. in 2050.

But if the transition to green fuels is to be accelerated on a global level, it will require more ambitious targets in the IMO when the MEPC 80 meeting is held in July this year.