The Global Ethanol Association (GEA) and DNV have launched a three-year partnership to integrate comprehensive, traceable ethanol data into DNV’s Alternative Fuels Insight platform. The collaboration aims to map global production facilities, feedstocks, and capacities from a fuel-grade perspective to reduce market fragmentation. Ultimately, this initiative provides maritime and energy stakeholders with the verifiable intelligence needed to evaluate and adopt sustainable fuel pathways with confidence.
Cortaillod, Switzerland | August 24, 2026 – The Global Ethanol Association (GEA) and DNV have officially announced a three-year Ethanol Data Intelligence Partnership, marking a major strategic expansion into structured ethanol research and data intelligence for global energy and transport markets.
The multi-year collaboration is designed to bridge critical information gaps by supporting the development of a comprehensive, structured global ethanol database. It will encompass ongoing research, rigorous data maintenance, and regular updates throughout the duration of the agreement.
Transforming Fragmented Markets Through Structured Intelligence
Under the terms of the agreement, the GEA will develop and supply high-grade, comprehensive ethanol fuel data intelligence. This intelligence will be fully integrated and made accessible to subscribers and users of DNV’s industry-leading Alternative Fuels Insight (AFI) platform.
The initiative aims to drastically improve global visibility and transparency across the cross-sector ethanol landscape by establishing clear, traceable insights into production facilities and their specific characteristics from a strict fuel-grade perspective.
Key data points progressively captured and mapped within the research framework include:
- Production facility names and geographical locations
- Output capabilities and production capacities
- Utilized feedstocks and raw materials
- Specific fuel and output categories
With a heavy premium placed on source traceability and data quality, the intelligence draws exclusively from publicly available and verifiable information networks.
Executive Insights and Strategic Perspectives
Industry leaders from both organizations underscored the far-reaching implications of the alliance for maritime shipping, energy supply chains, and emerging green corridors.
“With Morten Jacobsen, our Secretary General, and on behalf of our association, we are very pleased to develop this new capability, which further reinforces our role as an international coordination and execution platform for the ethanol industry.” stated, Sylvain Zurcher, President, Global Ethanol Association
Elaborating on the long-term commercial goals of the partnership, Zurcher noted “Through this collaboration, we are establishing the research infrastructure needed to map ethanol production facilities globally from a fuel-grade perspective and transform fragmented information into structured and traceable market intelligence. By providing greater visibility into areas such as production capacity, feedstocks, fuel categories and other fields of research, our objective is to help reduce information asymmetries for market participants and support better-informed decisions across the ethanol value chain.”
DNV echoed these sentiments regarding the caliber of data entering the AFI ecosystem. Nathaniel Frithiof, Sales Lead Digital Products at DNV, stated “As we have expanded and added new assets to the AFI platform we have always looked to build around the provision of high quality, verifiable data. And from our first meeting with GEA we have been very impressed by their commitment to providing the industry with solid insights on ethanol and the way they have already been able to build a solid network within the industry. This is looking to be a very productive partnership, and we are positive that this new data intelligence from GEA will enable our AFI customers to explore new shipping fuel pathways with confidence.”
Strengthening Information Infrastructure for Shipping and Energy
By spearheading a dedicated ethanol research and data intelligence capability, the GEA aims to fortify the baseline information architecture for organizations evaluating ethanol across both nascent and mature commercial applications.
This newly forged data venture seamlessly integrates with and complements the GEA’s broader portfolio of marine and aviation sector initiatives, active project groups, high-level policy engagements, and dedicated market-development operations. For maritime operators, bunker traders, and shipowners eyeing alternative low-carbon propulsion vectors, the partnership introduces a new tier of transparency required to de-risk investments in sustainable marine fuels.
About DNV in the Maritime Industry
DNV is the world’s leading classification society and a recognized advisor for the maritime industry. It enhances the safety, quality, energy efficiency, and environmental performance of the global shipping industry across all vessel types and offshore structures. DNV invests heavily in research and development to find solutions, together with the industry, that address strategic, operational, or regulatory challenges.
About the Global Ethanol Association
The Global Ethanol Association (GEA) is an independent international not-for-profit association dedicated to advancing the development and adoption of ethanol across sectors and industries. GEA brings together stakeholders throughout the entire ethanol value chain, supporting industry coordination, market development, research and data intelligence, policy engagement, and collaborative initiatives. Its activities currently include dedicated marine and aviation sector initiatives, alongside projects aimed at expanding the role of ethanol in global markets.
Source: Global Ethanol Association