By Oliver Griffin
SAO PAULO, June 15 (Reuters) – The International Maritime Organization’s decision defining Brazilian corn ethanol’s carbon footprint is a landmark step that could position maritime transport as a major future market for the sector, industry executives told Reuters.
In May, the IMO defined the default value of Brazilian corn ethanol’s carbon footprint at 20.8 grams of carbon dioxide-equivalent (CO2e) per megajoule, specifically referring to biofuel produced from the country’s intermediate or second-corn crop.
The current average greenhouse gas fuel intensity in shipping is 93.3 grams of CO2e per megajoule, according to the IMO.
The IMO’s defined value for Brazilian corn ethanol is a significant step as the agency builds regulations to govern lower-carbon fuels, said Gustavo Mariano, vice president of trading at Inpasa.
“It was a historic and symbolic milestone,” Mariano said in an interview, adding that it consolidates the position of Brazilian and South American corn ethanol as a viable fuel for decarbonization.
For decades, Brazil’s ethanol industry has been dominated by the country’s sugarcane producers. However, according to industry association UNEM, corn ethanol output surged to almost 10 billion liters in the 2025/26 season, up from 2.65 billion liters at the start of the decade.
Once biofuels receive approval for use in shipping, producers could benefit from possible premiums on greener fuels, said Rafael Abud, chief executive of corn ethanol maker FS Fueling Sustainability.
“We have invested heavily in every aspect we can to decarbonize our product,” Abud said, citing efforts to lower emissions from biomass use, industrial efficiency and a bioenergy with carbon capture and storage project that could eventually make FS ethanol carbon negative.
The scale of the global shipping industry means Brazil’s second-crop corn ethanol will not be in competition with other biofuels such as sugarcane ethanol and biodiesel, but will complement them instead, the executives said.
“If the global bunker market were converted into ethanol equivalent, it would be almost 400 billion liters,” Mariano said. “These are volumes so large that we need all sustainable biofuels.”
(Reporting by Oliver Griffin; Editing by Will Dunham)
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