First featured on Marine Money
The Fund for Energy EfficiencyTechnologies (FEET) is a pioneering financing platform designed to accelerate the adoption of energy efficiency technologies (EETs) in global shipping. By combining innovative financing structuring with high-resolution performance data, FEET addresses two longstanding barriers in the maritime sector: performance uncertainty and limited access to financing.
Shipping accounts for approximately 3% of global CO₂ emissions, with around 80% of global trade transported by sea. While zero-carbon fuels are unlikely to scale significantly in the near term, energy efficiency technologies— such as wind-assisted propulsion and air lubrication systems—offer immediate emissions reductions of up to 20%.
Despite this potential, adoption remains minimal due to fragmented incentives and risk exposure.
FEET resolves these challenges through a pay-as-you-save model, which links payment obligations directly to verified fuel and regulatory savings. This approach aligns the interests of shipowners, investors and technology providers by ensuring that financial returns are tied to actual operational performance rather than projected outcomes.
Crucially, it shifts performance risk away from shipowners alone and distributes it across stakeholders.
Underpinning FEET are highresolution, high-frequency data from which energy savings attributable specifically to the EET can be calculated and validated. This creates statistical confidence in real-world performance and establishes a standardised, transparent method for measurement and third-party verification—an essential foundation for scaling investment.
FEET’s financing model is equally innovative. It employs a blended capital structure comprising senior debt, preferred equity, commercial equity and catalytic equity. This layered approach enables 100% upfront, unsecured leasing of retrofits— typically ranging from $1–5 million—while distributing risk across different investor classes.
Portfolio diversification across vessel types, technologies and geographies further enhances resilience and stabilises returns. The fund has already secured up to $35 million in initial commitments, exceeding expectations, and aims to scale to $500 million by 2030, supporting approximately 200 vessels. Within an estimated $20 billion retrofit market, FEET demonstrates how systemic barriers can be dismantled to unlock immediate emissions reductions.
Beyond its direct financing impact, FEET is designed to catalyse broader industry transformation. By generating trusted datasets and standardising performance benchmarks, it encourages wider adoption of energy efficiency solutions and accelerates innovation. Regional regulatory mechanisms, such as carbon pricing under emissions trading systems, further strengthen the business case by monetising emissions reductions.
Looking ahead, FEET is positioned to create a virtuous cycle: as the portfolio expands, risk decreases, financing costs improve and data quality improves. This, in turn, builds confidence among stakeholders and drives further investment into maritime decarbonisation. In essence, FEET represents a systemic shift—from high-risk retrofit investments to scalable, performance-linked financing— enabling the shipping industry to act decisively in the critical decade ahead.
