New e-Fuel Tender Challenges Shipping Industry to Embrace Sustainability
The Zero Emission Maritime Buyers Alliance (ZEMBA), a coalition of freight buyers advocating for zero-emission shipping, has announced its second tender aimed at pioneering the commercial use of e-fuels in the container shipping sector, with bids expected by spring 2025.
This ambitious initiative seeks to aggregate around 86 billion tonne nautical miles of demand for e-fuel-powered shipping starting in 2027, which is equivalent to transporting 1.5 million twenty-foot containers across the Pacific Ocean from Shanghai to Los Angeles.
Through this collaborative effort, ZEMBA and its more than 40 member companies, including major retailers like Amazon and IKEA, anticipate reducing greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 500 000 metric tonnes.
Ingrid Irigoyen, President and CEO of ZEMBA, stated:
“Getting e-fuel-powered shipping on the water for the first time through this collaborative forward procurement will be a huge technical and commercial innovation milestone for the sector.”
The tender requires bidders to show at least a 90 % reduction in lifecycle emissions compared to traditional high-emission fuels. Successful proposals will lead to contracts for e-fuel-powered shipping lasting 3-5 years starting in 2027. ZEMBA is considering the possibility of selecting multiple winners, with results expected by the end of 2025.
This second tender builds on ZEMBA’s first successful initiative, completed in April 2024, when the German ocean carrier Hapag-Lloyd secured the contract. In that initial project, over a dozen ZEMBA members committed to purchasing zero-emission shipping environmental attributes for more than 1 billion twenty-foot container-miles on the Singapore-Rotterdam route. This initiative is projected to reduce CO2e emissions by at least 82 000 metric tonnes through the exclusive use of independently certified waste-based biomethane during 2025 and 2026.
Jonathan Butler, Climate Campaign Manager for Corporate at Pacific Environment, remarked, “This tender process signals that the industry is ready to invest in zero-emission shipping.”
The announcement comes at a crucial time for maritime decarbonization, as the global shipping industry is struggling to meet the International Maritime Organization’s goal of having zero-emission fuels account for 5 % of all fuels by 2030, according to a recent report.
Butler added, “Meanwhile, the shipping industry had a significant surge in profits in 2024, with some estimates recording $26,8 billion in the third quarter alone. The industry has the money to transform itself and align shipping with the U.N.’s climate goals, but it continues to prioritize profits over people and the planet.”
