# Shipping’s fuel future may depend on imperfect choices

- Link: https://www.directorstalkinterviews.com/shipping-s-fuel-future-may-depend-on-imperfect-choices/4121229081
- Published: 2025-12-04T11:13:00+00:00
- Author: Amilia Stone

The global drive to decarbonise shipping is not waiting for a unicorn fuel. For 
owners and operators, the calculus must shift from longing for a ‘perfect’ zero‑
carbon fuel to pragmatically deploying today’s available options and design flexibility
for tomorrow. The reality is that fuels such as green ammonia, methanol, biofuels,
hydrogen or LNG, while imperfect on their own, each deliver incremental reductions
in emissions and, perhaps more importantly, create a pragmatic transitional path.

The scale of global shipping, regulatory pressures, and the long lifespan of vessels
mean that postponing fuel conversion until a hypothetical ideal fuel becomes widely
available could lock companies into carbon‑heavy assets for decades. Instead, shipowners
should be investing in dual‑ or multi‑fuel‑ready vessels, blending already viable
lower‑carbon options with an architecture that allows pivoting when supply chains
mature or regulations tighten.

Technically, each alternative offers trade‑offs. For example, liquefied natural 
gas (LNG) is already supported by an expanding bunkering infrastructure and a growing
fleet of dual‑fuel ships. Meanwhile methanol or ammonia promise deeper decarbonisation
potential long‑term, especially if produced from renewable feedstocks. Biofuels 
provide an immediate albeit modest emissions reduction and can leverage existing
engine and fuel supply systems.

_**[Quadrise plc](https://www.directorstalkinterviews.com/company/quadrise-plc/qed.l)**(
LON:QED) is an energy technology provider whose solutions enable production of cheaper,
cleaner, simpler and safer alternatives to fuel oil and biofuels, proven in real
world applications. Quadrise technologies produce transition fuels called MSAR® 
and bioMSAR™, which allow clients in the shipping, utilities and industrial sectors
to reduce carbon emissions whilst also saving costs._

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