IMO NZF needs to include incentives for e-fuels, 20 green fuel producers say

October 13, 2025, by Naida Hakirevic Prevljak

Twenty green fuel producers have called on delegates of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to seize a ‘once-in-a-generation’ opportunity to set shipping on a sustainable pathway.

At this week’s extraordinary session, leaders will come together in London to discuss the adoption of the IMO’s Net Zero Framework (NZF) that was agreed in April earlier this year. A final vote is expected on Thursday or Friday.

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The group of companies, including the likes of European Energy, Liquid Wind, ET Fuels, HIF Global and Zero Waste calls on the IMO to adopt the deal and to include specific incentives for green e-fuels, which are currently at a disadvantage to LNG and biofuels. That is despite hydrogen-based e-fuels providing much greater emissions savings and being the only fuel that cannot.

Together, the signatories have projects in Africa, South and North America, Europe, Southeast Asia as well as Oceania.

“E-fuel producers need policy certainty to get green shipping fuels off the ground. Shipping could become a major offtaker for hundreds of projects worldwide, but only under the right rules. The current IMO Net-Zero Framework leaves e-fuels competing with cheaper and unsustainable options like fossil gas and first-generation biofuels,” Alison Shaw, IMO manager at T&E, emphasized.

“The message from producers is clear: to decarbonise shipping at scale, incentives for green e-fuels are essential. Without targeted incentives, shipping’s energy transition risks stalling before it begins.”

In related news, the Getting to Zero Coalition and the Global Maritime Forum recently published a new insight brief which highlighted that IMO’s new policy measures are ambitious enough to drive a transition to scalable zero-emission fuels but will ultimately only succeed if they include meaningful rewards and, over time, higher penalties for non-compliance.

The analysis found that e-fuels have the highest potential for shipping to achieve its long-term decarbonization targets. However, early uptake and value chain development are needed if they are to reach commercial viability in time.

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