China's first independently developed ultra-large methanol dual-fuel roll-on/roll-off (ro-ro) ship begins its maiden voyage in Nantong, East China's Jiangsu Province, on December 8, 2025. With a capacity equivalent to 9,300 cars and 78,400 square meters of deck space, the ship will carry new-energy vehicles to Europe. Photo: VCG

China's green fuel industry has made phased progress, with production capacity steadily increasing. As of the end of 2025, the country had green fuel production capacity of about 8 million tons of oil equivalent (TOE) per year, according to a report released by China's National Energy Administration (NEA) on Wednesday.

The output of green methanol reached 380,000 tons, green ammonia stood at 700,000 tons, and sustainable aviation fuel hit 1.7 million tons, making China a major global supplier, the report showed.

The NEA published the China Green Fuel Development Report (2026) on its website on Wednesday. Downstream application scenarios for green fuels in China continue to expand, with coverage extending from land transportation to the shipping, aviation and industrial sectors, the report showed. 

China's green methanol production capacity accounted for 60.3 percent of the world's total in 2025, according to the report. The ratio for green ammonia was 79.5 percent.

Green fuels, represented by green methanol, green ammonia, and sustainable aviation fuel, are fuels with low carbon emissions throughout their entire life cycles and in compliance with environmental protection requirements.

In recent years, global climate governance constraints have tightened, and the global energy mix has accelerated its transition toward clean and low-carbon sources. International organizations such as the International Maritime Organization and the International Civil Aviation Organization, as well as countries and regions including the US, the EU, and Brazil, have introduced policies to promote carbon reduction in key transportation sectors.

Analysts said that China's development of green fuels not only supports deep decarbonization in key industries and addresses the bottleneck of large-scale renewable energy absorption, but also helps cultivate new drivers of economic growth. That's very significant in supporting global climate action and promoting a comprehensive green transformation of the Chinese economy and society, they said.

Although China has taken a leading position globally in green fuel production and equipment R&D, key technological equipment still requires further breakthroughs, Li Zhijian, vice president of the China National Petroleum & Chemical Planning Institute, said in a post on the NEA's website. 

In particular, there remains considerable room for improvement in areas such as biomass gasification efficiency and the performance of high-efficiency synthesis catalysts - areas that urgently need focused research efforts, Li noted.

According to projections from domestic and international institutions, global green fuel demand is expected to reach about 10 million TOE by 2030 and exceed 100 million TOE by 2050, indicating vast room for industrial growth.

China, rich in renewable resources such as wind, solar, and biomass, provides a solid foundation for large-scale development of the green fuel industry, the NEA said.

China could achieve green electricity from a total installed capacity of 3.6 billion kilowatts for wind and solar power, with an annual available volume of organic waste of some 617 million tons by 2035. If reasonably used for green fuel production, this could support an industrial scale of about 10 million TOE, Li said, citing an industry estimate.

Global Times