GCGF Featured in Manifold Times: Ethanol’s Place in Alternative Bunker Fuels

Global Centre for Green Fuels (GCGF) was featured in Manifold Times, a leading maritime and bunkering publication. In the article titled “GCGF: Why ethanol deserves a seat at the alternative bunker fuels table” (published 8 August 2025), GCGF’s Maritime Advisor, Chris Chatterton, made a compelling case for ethanol as a practical and scalable marine fuel.

Key highlights include:

• Ethanol’s strategic advantages: It’s widely available, competitively priced, compatible with existing dual‑fuel engine platforms and offers very low lifecycle emissions, significantly reducing both SOₓ and particulate matter emissions.
  

• Regulatory momentum: Following a document submission by Brazil and IBIA at IMO MEPC 83, GCGF is supporting key actions such as lifecycle analysis inclusion, ISO standard development and IGF Code updates to address ethanol-specific fuel safety and operational parameters.
  

• Operational readiness: Modern methanol dual‑fuel engines (Wärtsilä W‑series, Everllence/MAN, WindGD models) can be adapted to run on ethanol with minimal hardware modifications—primarily software recalibration, offering flexibility and seamless integration.
  

• Safety and environmental profile: Ethanol carries lower toxicity risks compared to methanol and holds a higher energy density, making it a safer and slightly more efficient marine fuel.
  

• Sustainability and scalability: Ethanol production is already significant—nearly 100 million mtpa globally—and is supported by advancing agricultural and biorefining techniques that lower its carbon intensity while leveraging existing infrastructure and contributing to rural economic development 

Read the full article on Manifold Times