Meeting Maritime’s Methanol Demand

With the demand for methanol as a marine fuel expected to grow rapidly over the coming years, can green methanol production scale enough to help shipowners comply with evolving regulations?

Join us in this episode of Setting Course, an ABS Podcast, as we bring together leaders from across the methanol value chain to discuss the growing methanol-ready fleet, scaling production, reducing fuel costs, and expanding port and bunkering infrastructure.

Featured:

• Greg Dolan, Former Methanol Institute CEO
• Meg Gentle, HIF Global Executive Director
• Sebastian Ebbing, MPC Container Ships Group Sustainability Officer
• Sundeep Shaw, ABS Global Sustainability Manager

Share this episode on social media, leave a review on your favorite podcast platform or send feedback to [e-mail]. Learn more about how ABS is supporting the maritime industry at www.eagle.org.

Footnote: After this episode was recorded, Greg Dolan announced his retirement as CEO of the Methanol Institute. Congratulations, Greg, and thank you for joining this episode of Setting Course.

Key Points

• There are over 1,300 methanol-capable vessels operating or on order.
• Regulatory clarity is essential for shipowners to plan their strategies.
• Industry is working on lowering the cost of green and blue methanol.
• Bunkering infrastructure for methanol is developing but still limited.
• Investment certainty is needed to scale up methanol production.

Guests

Greg Dolan recently retired from the Methanol Institute after holding a variety of senior management positions with MI over the past 29 years, serving as CEO for the past 14 years. He managed MI’s offices in Washington, Singapore, Brussels, Beijing, and Delhi, while directing international governmental relations, media relations, public education, and outreach efforts. He has presented papers on methanol-related topics at more than 200 international conferences and webinars, authored magazine articles, and written book chapters on the methanol industry. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Boston University, and did extensive postgraduate work in Political Communication at the State University of New York-Albany.

Meg Gentle is an Executive Director of the Board of HIF Global. She has over 20 years of experience developing large scale energy infrastructure. She has served in numerous senior management positions and boards of directors of publicly traded energy companies in the U.S., including Cheniere, Tellurian, and Ovintiv. She has a B.A. in economics and international affairs from James Madison University and an MBA from Rice University.

Sebastian Ebbing is an expert in green shipping and clean technology with a robust background in regulatory affairs and sustainability. He currently serves as the Group Sustainability Officer at MPC Container Ship ASA, where he spearheads corporate strategies focused on sustainability, decarbonization, and fleet modernization. His academic credentials include a Master of Science in International Maritime Management and ongoing doctoral research on carbon capture and recycling in maritime transport. He is also a university lecturer and a member of the Management Board at the Institute for Innovative Logistics and Environment located at the Jade University of Applied Science.

Sundeep Shaw is a Copenhagen-based maritime sustainability expert helping the shipping industry navigate the transition to net-zero emissions. With deep operational insight and a strategic mindset, he supports ship owners and managers in areas like carbon accounting, retrofit feasibility and alternative fuels. As Manager of the ABS Copenhagen Sustainability Center, Sundeep also leads research and innovation focused on carbon dioxide reduction and green fuel solutions.