Low-carbon methanol
Methanol bunkering in the UK
Announced as a shipping story. Its wider significance is that the UK now has certified low-carbon methanol held on British soil.
- Launched
- Feb 2026
- Port
- Immingham
- GHG reduction
- up to ~80%
- UK domestic shipping
- 4.7% of transport CO₂
In February 2026 the UK acquired something it had not previously had: a commercial supply point for certified low-carbon methanol on British soil. It was announced as a shipping story, and it is one — but the significance runs wider, because it changes what a credible domestic green methanol enquiry looks like.
Key points
- The UK's first commercial bio-methanol bunkering service launched at the Port of Immingham in February 2026.
- Exolum provides storage and bunkering infrastructure; Methanex supplies ISCC-certified bio-methanol; Ørsted is the first customer.
- The bio-methanol is produced from waste and residues, with up to around 80% greenhouse gas reduction against conventional marine fuel.
- Ørsted is using it to fuel service vessels for its North Sea offshore wind farms.
- Domestic shipping accounts for 4.7% of UK transport CO2 emissions — more than buses, trains and domestic aviation combined.
The Immingham service
Three parties, each contributing a different piece. Exolum, a liquid bulk storage and terminal operator, provides the storage and bunkering infrastructure. Methanex supplies the bio-methanol, ISCC-certified and produced at its Gulf Coast facilities from waste and residues. Ørsted is the launch customer, taking the fuel for the vessels that service its North Sea offshore wind farms.
The location is not incidental. Immingham is the UK's largest port by cargo volume, which gives the service access to existing liquid bulk infrastructure, established marine traffic and the industrial cluster around the Humber.
Ørsted's service operation vessels maintain offshore wind farms. Fuelling them with certified low-carbon methanol closes a loop that would otherwise sit awkwardly: renewable generation assets maintained by diesel-burning boats. It is a small volume with a disproportionate demonstration value.
Beyond shipping
Before Immingham, a UK industrial buyer wanting certified bio-methanol was arranging an import. The material existed but the domestic supply point did not, which put certified volumes out of practical reach for anyone not buying at cargo scale.
A commercial storage facility holding certified material in the UK changes the shape of that conversation. It does not make certified bio-methanol cheap, and it does not resolve the underlying constraint that demand from shipping is running ahead of certified supply. What it does is establish physical infrastructure and a commercial precedent — which is how these markets usually start.
The policy pressure behind it
Domestic shipping produces 4.7% of UK transport-related CO2 emissions, exceeding buses, trains and domestic aviation combined. That is a substantial and stubbornly hard-to-abate slice, and the regulatory direction is not going to reverse. Infrastructure built for maritime decarbonisation is likely to keep expanding, and industrial buyers will benefit from the same tankage.
If you are a UK buyer
- Ask about certified availability specifically. Suppliers quote conventional material unless you ask otherwise. See buying methanol in the UK.
- Ask where the certified material is held. Domestic storage and an arranged import are different propositions on lead time, minimum volume and reliability.
- Do not assume spot availability. Certified volumes are contracted. If a claim matters to your reporting, contract for it — see certification and mass balance.
- Expect the premium to persist. While the vessel orderbook outruns certified supply, there is no structural reason for it to compress.
- Watch the Humber. Infrastructure attracts infrastructure. The cluster around Immingham is the place further UK developments are most likely to appear.
For how this fits the wider picture of how methanol reaches the UK, see the UK supply chain.
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