Study Finds Methanol as Key Fuel for Dublin-Holyhead Green Shipping Corridor

by Ship & Bunker News Team
Monday September 29, 2025

The ferry corridor between Ireland's Dublin and Holyhead in Wales has been identified as a strong candidate to become one of Europe's first green shipping corridors, with green methanol seen as the leading fuel option.

The Greening the Irish Sea – the Central Corridor study, led by Ricardo, assessed marine fuel options for reducing emissions on the busy Dublin-Holyhead route, as per the report earlier this month.

Green methanol was identified as the most viable near-term fuel, offering potential for retrofitting existing ferries and up to an 80% reduction in GHG emissions.

Hydrogen and ammonia were deemed longer-term options but face significant challenges, including safety concerns and high infrastructure costs. Battery-electric retrofits were ruled out due to energy demand, while LNG offers only limited emissions savings.

The study projects annual methanol demand at 150,000 mt, with imports likely required in the short term since neither Ireland nor the UK currently produces green methanol at scale.

While technically feasible, the study warns that green methanol's economics remain challenging.

Annual operating costs were modelled at £83-125 million ($112-168 million) compared with £34 million for fossil fuels, with prices highly sensitive to production pathway.

At £400/mt ($537/mt), aligned with optimistic long-term projections, methanol could close the cost gap, but current prices range from £1,300 to over £3,000/mt ($1,746-4,030/mt).

Ship & Bunker News Team
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