Insight Focus
Ethanol is gaining momentum as global transportation decarbonises. More mandates and new aviation and marine pathways are expanding its role despite cost and supply limits. Governments and major industry players around the world support ethanol as a scalable near-term emissions solution.
The worldwide need to reduce carbon emissions into the atmosphere in order to slow global warming grows more urgent as the years slip by. Ethanol made from corn, sugarcane and other crops has a large role to play in reducing carbon emissions from transportation fuels.
The rate of ethanol blending with gasoline for use in cars and trucks is expected to increase as nations raise ethanol content in motor fuels from E10 to E15 and higher. E85 is already available in some locations. Sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) using ethanol are being rapidly developed, and sustainable marine fuel (SMF) is being investigated for major use by the shipping industry.
On The Land
The US and Brazil are the largest producers of ethanol in the world. Brazil leads the way when it comes to blending ethanol with gasoline. In August 2025, Brazil implemented a nationwide mandate for a 30% ethanol blend in gasoline. The mandate requires all Gasoline C sold at the pump to contain 30% anhydrous ethanol, up from 27.5%, to reduce fossil fuel dependence and expand domestic biofuel use.
Source: RFA
With this change, Brazil now has one of the highest ethanol blending requirements in the world. In contrast, the US maintains E10 as its standard blend, with limited availability of E15 and E85. E15 is currently available in 31 states at just over 3,000 stations. However, E15 may not be sold between June 1 and September 15 without an exemption from the EPA.
Legislators in the US Congress are currently considering adopting a measure in the annual spending bill that would allow the nationwide, year-round sale of E15.
Market watcher Platts reported that industry estimates suggest the Brazilian E30 mandate could shift as much as 1.2 billion litres of ethanol from hydrous to anhydrous use over the next year. While anhydrous ethanol is mixed with gasoline, hydrous ethanol—used directly in flex-fuel vehicles—may now face tighter supply and higher retail prices, narrowing its traditional price advantage.
Most European nations cap blending at E5 or E10, while India adopted E20 at the end of 2025. Brazil, uniquely, also offers E100 as a standalone fuel option for its large fleet of flex-fuel vehicles.
In The Air
A significant market for ethanol, and one of the few near-term options for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from aviation, is sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). SAFs currently make up only a small fraction of total jet fuel use. Their adoption is limited by the small number of producers and the high cost of SAF compared with conventional jet fuel.
In 2023, Platts assessed SAF on a CIF basis in Northwest Europe at USD 2,286.25/tonne, compared with USD 741/tonne for jet cargoes on an equivalent basis. While the cost of SAF has come down since then, it remains far out of balance with standard jet fuel.
Source: Airlines For America
A number of companies, including Honeywell, LanzaJet and Praj Industries, are working to address the cost challenge by developing ethanol-to-jet (ETJ) fuel. ETJ is a pathway that converts ethanol into synthetic jet fuel.
First out of the gate was LanzaJet with its alcohol-to-jet (ATJ) technology. Capable of using low-carbon and sustainable ethanol, this first-to-market technology has the supply volume necessary to enable a scaled SAF industry.
The LanzaJet ATJ technology converts ethanol into Synthetic Paraffinic Kerosene using a continuous catalytic process. LanzaJet says its SAF significantly reduces greenhouse gas emissions and can be carbon-negative, depending on the source of ethanol used. It also reduces contrail formation, sulphur emissions, and particulate matter by up to 95%.
Honeywell says it is expanding its sustainable aviation fuel portfolio to include new ethanol-to-jet fuel technology. ETJ represents a new revenue stream for ethanol producers seeking diversification to meet the needs of the large and growing aviation market. Producers of SAF can realise significant value from their fuels due to production credits and strong airline demand for sustainable aviation solutions.
Honeywell’s ETJ process technology is used by ethanol plants to refine and process feedstock supply to produce high-efficiency ethanol. The company says its ETJ technology efficiently converts ethanol into high-quality renewable jet fuel with properties similar to conventional jet fuel.
Japan is considering imposing a levy on passengers to help fund sustainable aviation fuel purchases, while fuel distributors would be required to blend SAF into conventional jet fuel, according to a Yomiuri Shimbun report. Airline passengers would shoulder an additional several 10s of yen per ticket—which would be well under USD 1—according to the report.
The government expects to compile a basic policy framework to advance SAF adoption at an upcoming public–private sector meeting and to revise the Airport Law, with details expected to be finalised by the 2026 fiscal year. Japan has previously stated its aim to implement production tax credits to boost SAF output and target greenhouse gas savings of 50% in SAF supplied to the local market, as it plans for a 10% SAF blend mandate by 2030.
On The Sea
In Brazil, ethanol from Pernambuco is ready to be used in marine fuel blends. Sindaçúcar/PE’s Renato Cunha told news sources that Suape Port is positioned to support coastal bunkering under existing IMO rules. Galveston LNG Bunker Port and TOTE Services will develop a new fleet of US-built LNG bunker vessels to serve the Gulf Coast from Texas City, with operations expected to begin by 2029.
In Denmark, the Financial Times reported that Maersk hopes focusing on ethanol, rather than green methanol, as a way to decarbonise shipping will benefit US and Brazilian farmers. Maersk, the world’s largest shipping company, also hopes that climate sceptics such as US President Trump might be persuaded to support greener shipping fuels.
