India-Singapore corridor plans 1M tonnes of biomethanol a year from 2030

By AI, Created 7:36 PM UTC, June 01, 2026, /AGP/ – Novel Biofuels, ACTUAL and Maharashtra announced a commitment to make more than 1 million tonnes of biomethanol available from 2030 for shipping on the India-Singapore Green Shipping Corridor. The deal aims to give vessel operators long-term access to clean marine fuel and anchor what the companies describe as India’s first sovereign fuel corridor.

Why it matters: - The commitment is the largest planned supply position on the India-Singapore Green Shipping Corridor. - The project targets more than 1 million tonnes a year of biomethanol from 2030, giving shipping lines a potential long-term clean fuel supply. - The announcement lands as shipping operators face pressure to secure low-carbon fuels at industrial scale.

What happened: - Novel Biofuels, ACTUAL and the Government of Maharashtra announced the biomethanol commitment during Singapore Maritime Week 2026 on April 21. - The event brought together officials with direct authority over the corridor, including Vijay Kumar of India’s Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Dr. Shilpak Ambule, Dr. P. Anbalagan and Tan Hoe Soon of the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore. - The companies positioned the effort as part of the India-Singapore Green Shipping Corridor, a bilateral initiative tied to the countries’ maritime decarbonization plans.

The details: - The Novel Gadchiroli Biomethanol Project is co-developed by Novel Biofuels and ACTUAL with formal backing from the Government of Maharashtra. - The project is described as India’s first sovereign fuel corridor, built as a Maharashtra-Singapore biomethanol supply route. - The project is designed to deliver at least 1 million tonnes per year of sovereign biomethanol from 2030. - The fuel pathway uses bamboo biomass gasification to methanol with Tier 1 technology. - Front-end engineering and design is underway in 2026. - The project sits on degraded, deforested land in Chandrapur-Gadchiroli, Maharashtra. - Bamboo is the planned feedstock because it regenerates from its own root system and can be harvested without replanting. - The supply chain is governed under a 20-year framework anchored in the Maharashtra Bamboo Industry Policy and long-term state-backed farmer contracts. - A study by RMI said the Rotterdam-VOC-Singapore corridor could support combined demand of 7 million tonnes per year of green methanol by 2030. - Singapore sold nearly 60 million tonnes of bunker fuel in 2025, the largest volume of any port in the world. - Singapore supplies more than one-sixth of the fuel consumed by global shipping and handles roughly a quarter of global seaborne trade. - Maersk and CMA CGM have ordered nearly 40 methanol-capable vessels between them. - More than 150 low-carbon ships are targeted by 2029.

Between the lines: - Maharashtra is framing the project as industrial policy as much as energy policy, with local production, pricing and control over the fuel supply chain. - Singapore gives the project a ready demand anchor because of its bunker-fuel dominance and position in global shipping routes. - The corridor is meant to link India’s renewable and industrial base with Singapore’s fueling infrastructure, creating a bilateral route for alternative marine fuels. - The project also signals a broader bet that sovereign, state-backed clean fuel corridors can attract shipping demand and investment.

What’s next: - FEED work continues in 2026 for the Gadchiroli project. - The parties are targeting first biomethanol availability from 2030. - Shipping lines operating on the corridor are expected to evaluate Maharashtra as a future bunkering and refueling point. - The governments and project partners are likely to use the corridor to advance wider maritime fuel transition plans under the India-Singapore Green and Digital Shipping Corridor.

The bottom line: - The announcement turns the India-Singapore corridor from a policy framework into a concrete fuel supply plan, with Maharashtra, Novel Biofuels and ACTUAL aiming to deliver industrial-scale biomethanol to a market that is already looking for it.