Platts Launches Low-Carbon Methanol Fuel Prices

S&P Global Commodity Insights has made a major move in aiding the decarbonization of the maritime industry by launching new low-carbon methanol marine fuel (MMF) price assessments in Shanghai and Rotterdam. The new assessments will take effect from May 2 and will seek to offer more transparency in sustainable shipping fuels as the industry is subjected to mounting regulatory pressure to cut emissions.

The action follows the global shipping sector as it contends with increasingly stringent environmental regulations. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has already imposed greenhouse gas (GHG) charges due to go into effect in 2028, following the European Union's FuelEU Maritime plans, which require phased GHG intensity reduction up to 2050. These rules encourage the sector toward cleaner-burning fuels, and methanol is at the center of the transition.

Shanghai, the busiest container port in the world, is becoming a vital low-carbon methanol hub. The new price assessment of the city follows an identical launch in Singapore just six months ago. Sustainable methanol has already been bunkered and supplied in Shanghai, Global Methanol Pricing Lead at Platts Esther Ng states. This increasing adoption signifies the port's contribution to accelerating the industry towards net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. With China's low-carbon methanol manufacturing expected to amount to 1.5 million metric tons per annum by 2028, the nation will be a dominant market supplier.

The Rotterdam price is also significant, as Europe's busiest port remains committed to furthering its sustainability efforts. Rotterdam is a crucial part of the Green and Digital Shipping Corridor with Singapore, a program that aims for at least a 20% emissions cut by 2030 along key trade lanes. By creating an open transparent pricing benchmark for low-carbon methanol, Platts looks to facilitate the region's increased demand for cleaner marine fuels and spur investment in sustainable alternatives.

Market participants expect enhanced liquidity for low-carbon methanol in the months ahead as shipowners and traders look for cost-competitive means of meeting emissions rules. Olivier Maronneaud, S&P Global's Global Research Lead for Methanol and Plastic Circularity, pointed out that European legislative progress and developments at a global regulatory level, especially at the recent IMO MEPC 83 session in April, have built momentum for clean marine fuels. Consequently, the availability and adoption of low-carbon methanol are anticipated to surge dramatically.

Platts' new benchmarks are the Low-carbon Methanol FOB Shanghai, Low-carbon Methanol Marine Fuel Delivered Shanghai, and Low-carbon Methanol Marine Fuel Delivered Rotterdam, with evaluations in both U.S. dollars and euros per metric ton. The benchmarks also consider sustainability documentation requirements under the Renewable Energy Directive to ensure compliance with carbon intensity standards and provide transparency over GHG savings over conventional fossil fuels.

By creating solid price benchmarks in two of the globe's most powerful shipping routes, Platts seeks to give vital market indicators to maritime players, fuel traders, and investors. As the shipping sector steps up its efforts to transition to low-emission fuels, Shanghai and Rotterdam will be at the forefront of charting the course of the future of green marine energy.

S&P Global Commodity Insights made a historic step in addressing the decarbonization needs of the maritime industry with the release of low-carbon methanol marine fuel (MMF) price assessments in Shanghai and Rotterdam from May 2. Platts' new benchmarks seek to boost transparency for the emerging marketplace of sustainable shipping fuels, as worldwide regulatory entities and regional administrations further push the sector to minimize greenhouse gas emissions.

Since the shipping sector generates close to 3% of worldwide emissions, the demand for cleaner fuel options has never been greater. The launch of these tests responds not only to market demand but also to regulatory alignment, particularly with increasing global and EU measures like the International Maritime Organization's (IMO) greenhouse gas (GHG) penalties that will start in 2028 and the EU's FuelEU Maritime targets that require progressive GHG intensity reductions up to 2050. These guidelines are compelling shipowners and logistics firms to embrace lower-carbon options.

Shanghai and Rotterdam, two of the globe's most essential shipping and bunker centers, are set to become focal points of the low-carbon methanol economy. Shanghai, already the world's busiest container port, already boasts a record of sustainable bunkering and supply of methanol. Esther Ng, Platts' Global Methanol Pricing Lead, added that such evaluations are meant to provide price clarity to shipowners and other stakeholders as the industry moves toward a 2050 net-zero emissions goal. The action is also China's first-ever low-carbon MMF evaluation, after Singapore's identical action merely six months prior.

China’s methanol capacity is expected to see significant growth, with projections indicating production could reach 1.5 million metric tons per year by 2028. With such scaling on the horizon, Shanghai’s position as a trading hub for low-carbon methanol is strengthening. Market participants anticipate the emergence of spot trading activity for MMF in Shanghai by mid-2025, further solidifying its strategic importance.

In Rotterdam, the new MMF price assessment is consistent with current sustainability initiatives, such as the Green and Digital Shipping Corridor that was created in collaboration with Singapore. The project has a goal of at least 20% less emissions on main trade routes by 2030. As the largest port in Europe and an established global hub for maritime commerce and bunkering, Rotterdam's participation in the Platts assessments serves to support the port's leadership position in promoting low-emissions marine fuel consumption.

Olivier Maronneaud, Platts Global Research Lead for Methanol and Plastic Circularity, highlighted the role of regulation in driving market momentum for low-carbon methanol. He pointed to the legislative progress made both in Europe and worldwide, specifically highlighting the results of last week's IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 83) meeting in April. These developments, as per Maronneaud, will propel liquidity in the low-carbon methanol market, boosting its availability and appeal as a bunker fuel in the months and years ahead.

The new price surveys introduced by Platts feature a number of benchmarks: Platts Low-carbon Methanol FOB Shanghai, Platts Low-carbon Methanol Marine Fuel Delivered Shanghai, and Platts Low-carbon Methanol Marine Fuel Delivered Rotterdam—quoted in both U.S. dollars per metric ton and euros per metric ton. Each benchmark is derived from market prices for methanol fuels meeting sustainability documentation standards as defined under the EU's Renewable Energy Directive. These benchmarks judge fuels according to carbon intensity and their possible GHG savings in relation to fossil fuel equivalents.

By launching these evaluations, Platts gives essential price signals to a variety of market players, such as maritime players, fuel traders, and investors. The benchmarks act as measures to assess the economic feasibility of low-carbon methanol as a substitute fuel and underpin decision-making in procurement, investment, and compliance strategies.

As international supply chains increasingly focus on emissions cuts, the creation of clear, standardized pricing structures for sustainable marine fuels is imperative. The introduction of the low-carbon MMF assessments in Shanghai and Rotterdam is not only a technical change in commodity pricing but a foundational step toward restructuring how maritime trade is aligned with climate objectives.