What Will It Take to Make Ethanol Bunkering Routine in Singapore? Takeaways from SIBCON 2026
Updated: 2 days ago
Ethanol bunkering in Singapore has moved past first trials. The question now is what it takes to make it routine and bankable.
On 13 October 2026, the Maritime Ethanol & Methanol Alliance (MEMA), a platform of the Global Centre for Green Fuels (GCGF), hosted a roundtable on the opening day of SIBCON 2026 at Resorts World Sentosa. The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) supported the event. It brought together shipowners, fuel producers, bunker suppliers, terminal operators, class societies, engine makers, traders and analysts to discuss how ethanol bunkering in Singapore can move from individual trials to regular commercial operations.
What we heard
Four presentations set the scene, from MPA on Singapore’s readiness to first-hand lessons from Santos.
New Wei Siang, Director, International at the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), opened with why Singapore, why ethanol and why now, and said MPA is ready to support ethanol bunkering trials.
Seshadri Gopalakrishnan of Bureau Veritas asked whether ethanol is ready for marine scale, presenting an indicative BV case study in which ethanol had the lowest lifetime cost on a Brazil–China ore carrier.
Ilias Soultanias of ABS previewed the GCGF-ABS paper on “Study of Ethanol as a Marine Fuel for the United States”, noting that the US produced 16.4 billion gallons of ethanol in 2025, about half of global output.
Carlos Torres Padilla of Bunker Holding shared lessons from bunkering 500,000 litres of ethanol to the CMA CGM Iron in Santos, Brazil.
Panel 1 – From Trial to Routine Bunkering: What Must Be Solved?
Moderated by Douglas Raitt of Lloyd’s Register, the first panel found that Singapore is largely ready on the operational side. Caroline Yang of Hong Lam Marine said Singapore already has methanol bunker tankers, trained crews and procedures that could support ethanol with limited extra preparation. “The entire framework is there,” she said. “You have the storage terminals… I have the bunker tankers. What’s stopping us?” Mark Lim of Stolthaven Singapore added that chemical terminals are broadly ready for ethanol, including smaller first volumes, and can provide denaturing services.
The gaps are in licensing and tax. Alexander Prokopakis of IBIA noted that Singapore has no dedicated ethanol bunkering licence yet, so a trial needs a one-time exception. Mark Lim warned that unless excise treatment is resolved, duty would “greatly affect the No. 1 consideration – economics”.
Capt. Jagadeesan Natarajan of Orient Marine brought the shipowner’s view. “Shipping is economics,” he said. Owners also need reliable supply, trained crews and recognised sustainability certification, and they cannot keep a commercial vessel waiting days for fuel. Girish Sreeraman of DNV said producers will invest in capacity for shipping once they have regulatory certainty about future demand.
On timing, Caroline Yang said that within two years, ethanol bunkering in Singapore could be as available as LNG is today. The audience agreed on where the problem lies: in the poll, 67% named commercial economics as the biggest obstacle, and almost no one named bunkering readiness.
Panel 2 – From Fuel Availability to Bankable Demand: Who Moves First?
Moderated by Ethan Ng of S&P Global, the second panel asked what would turn available fuel into firm demand. The panel brought together the main production pathways: corn ethanol from the US, sugarcane ethanol from Brazil, and advanced ethanol. Li Xu of LanzaTech spoke for advanced ethanol made from captured carbon. Paula Nava of Marquis Energy argued that buyers should look at the carbon-intensity outcome of the fuel rather than treating feedstock origin as the measure of quality, while recognising that price, availability and energy density will still shape the final decision.
Santos is already setting the pace. Daniel Valle of Copersucar said CMA CGM plans to extend ethanol capability to five more sister vessels. Carlos Torres Padilla said Bunker Holding has increased its pumping capacity and is ready for repeat deliveries. He added that ethanol’s established, traded market gives shipowners flexibility that newer fuels cannot. “Our typical term contract is three months, six months, very rarely you get into 12 months. Imagine that to be 10 years,” he said, contrasting this with the long-term offtake commitments that some new alternative-fuel projects require.
On engines, Sanjay Verma of Wärtsilä said ethanol combustion has been demonstrated in methanol-capable engines, but commercial warranties need far more operating experience. “You can’t do it with 400 hours of experience, you need thousands of hours.” Alex Ho of PetroChina International said adapting existing engines may need only software and injector changes, but class approval could take longer. He also noted that fuel specifications and denaturants affect storage, equipment compatibility, carbon intensity and cost.
Ethan Ng raised the challenge of price discovery. A credible Singapore ethanol bunker price needs regular trades in a representative product, and transparent pricing is itself part of what will get those trades going. The audience poll reflected both concerns - when asked which issue needs the most urgent attention, 38% chose denaturants and excise treatment, and market pricing benchmarks came second at 28%.
In Summary: Key Takeaways
The technical side is largely in place. Singapore can build on its methanol bunkering experience.
Supply isn’t the constraint. Ethanol is the world’s most widely produced biofuel, with large volumes in Asia-Pacific as well as the US and Brazil.
Price still decides. Without a meaningful value on carbon, alternative fuels will struggle to compete.
Singapore needs a clear regulatory pathway. This covers a bunkering licence that includes ethanol, clarity on denaturants and excise, and marine fuel specifications.
Denaturants need an international answer. Cargoes from different origins will be mixed in the same tanks, so an international marine ethanol standard matters.
Crews and credentials matter. Training and credible sustainability certification are both needed.
SIBCON 2026 week in slides
Our Maritime Director, Chris Chatterton, has summarised the roundtable and what the rest of SIBCON week signalled for alcohol fuels in a short slide deck on MEMA LinkedIn.
These slides cover the panel highlights, the five takeaways and full results from both audience polls, as well looks at three key developments from the SIBCON 2026 week - ethanol and methanol being used together, mass-balanced biomethane arriving in Singapore, and the growing case for retrofitting ships to run on alcohol fuels. You will also have a sneak preview of the six areas the MEMA Ethanol Bunkering Roadmap will cover.
The Roadmap ahead
Within days of the roundtable, Singapore completed its first ethanol bunkering. About 5,000 tonnes of ISCC-certified bioethanol were delivered to the Maersk Halifax at Pasir Panjang Terminal, with Golden Island, Stolthaven Terminals and PSA Singapore involved in the operation.
The speed of this first delivery shows how quickly the operational side is moving. The commercial and regulatory questions raised at the roundtable now need answers.
MEMA is turning the roundtable discussions into a Roadmap for scaling ethanol bunkering in Singapore. The Roadmap will set out practical steps on licensing, excise and customs, denaturants and standards, operations and crew, supply chains, certification and demand, so that ethanol can move from first deliveries to routine supply. MEMA will also use the Roadmap to guide its ongoing work with the MPA, Singapore Customs and industry partners.
Thank you to our speakers and moderators
From trial to routine bunkering: Alexander Prokopakis (IBIA), Caroline Yang (Hong Lam Marine), Mark Lim (Stolthaven Terminals), Girish Sreeraman (DNV) and Capt. Jagadeesan Natarajan (Orient Marine)
From fuel availability to bankable demand: Li Xu (LanzaTech), Paula Nava (Marquis Energy), Sanjay Verma (Wärtsilä), Carlos Torres Padilla (Bunker Holding), Daniel Valle (Copersucar) and Alex Ho (PetroChina International)
Most of all, thank you to everyone who joined us in the room and online for the livestream!
Watch the Recording
Missed the roundtable? Watch the full livestream recording below.
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a copy of the Roadmap for scaling ethanol bunkering in Singapore
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