World’s First Pay-As-You-Save Ship Retrofit Fund Adopts Singapore’s Revised Taxonomy

The Fund for Energy Efficiency Technologies (FEET) has adopted the second edition of the Singapore-Asia Taxonomy for Sustainable Finance (SAT) to guide investment decisions, making FEET the first fund to adopt the SAT.

The revised SAT criteria recognise qualifying vessel retrofits and energy efficiency technologies (EET) installations that deliver measurable greenhouse gas emissions reductions.

The Singapore Sustainable Finance Association (SSFA), supported by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), announced the second edition of the SAT at COP31 in Türkiye. At the launch event, FEET’s adoption of the revised taxonomy was highlighted as an example of how transition taxonomies can inform capital allocation in hard-to-abate sectors, where emissions reductions often require incremental investments in existing assets.

The Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation (GCMD) also announced that Lloyd’s Register (LR) has completed its independent review of the Centre’s methodology for quantifying fuel savings from WAPS, which underpins FEET’s financing of these projects. Together, these developments reinforce the role of measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) to inform investment decisions in maritime decarbonisation, with the updated taxonomy providing a credible framework, and GCMD’s independently reviewed methodology specifying what evidence is needed and how to measure performance.

FEET is the world’s first fund to link verified fuel and regulatory savings from EETs installed on vessels to a pay-as-you-save mechanism. It offers up to 100% upfront financing through a blended finance structure. FEET is managed by AIM Horizon Investments, with GCMD as the fund’s decarbonisation advisor, and is supported by the Development Bank of Japan, DBS Bank and ING.

Experience from real-world pilots helped shape taxonomy update

SSFA engaged with the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) and GCMD to review how the SAT can be applied to EET retrofits and installations. Others involved include ING and DNV. GCMD drew on operational experience from its EET pilots to show how fuel savings can be quantified credibly under real-world conditions.

Fuel savings methodology independently reviewed

GCMD’s methodology to quantify fuel savings builds on its pilot with Eastern Pacific Shipping (EPS) on board the MV Pacific Sentinel. During the pilot, GCMD collected 276 million data points over four months of spot-market trading in the Americas. From these, GCMD screened more than 3,000 on-off transitions and identified 203 in which operating conditions remained constant between the on and off states. This allowed fuel savings to be isolated and uniquely attributed to the wind sails, rather than changes in operating conditions.

LR’s independent review concluded that the methodology aligns with relevant industry standards and incorporates current best practices to assess WAPS performance.

Going forward, the methodology specifies how fuel savings will be determined for the WAPS projects FEET finances, with its assumptions, data collection and analyses contractually agreed among all parties. For each project, the data will be further audited, and the calculated fuel savings will be independently verified. These verified savings will then determine shipowners’ payments under the pay-as-you-save mechanism.

Professor Lynn Loo, CEO, GCMD, said, “Even small gains in fuel efficiency can deliver meaningful fuel cost savings over a vessel’s operating life, but financing them depends on confidence in the numbers. Trust in data is what accelerates adoption. By placing robust MRV at the heart of FEET, and now aligning it with the revised taxonomy and an independently reviewed methodology, we hope to give shipowners and financiers confidence to deploy these solutions.”

Marcel de Bruijckere, CEO, AIM Horizon Investments, said, “Measurement and independent verification of fuel and regulatory savings are crucial to reaching agreement on a pay-as-you-save financing mechanism with shipowners to which FEET provides financing of energy efficiency technologies. FEET’s own current providers of equity and debt capital welcome the adoption of the SAT by FEET and other such capital providers will show an interest in this approach to supporting maritime decarbonisation.”

Ang Wee Keong, Chief Executive, MPA, said, “The adoption of the SAT by GCMD’s Fund for Energy Efficiency Technologies (FEET) is an important step in advancing sustainable finance within the maritime sector. As the maritime industry accelerates its transition towards a lower-carbon future, having a clear and credible framework that defines green standards is essential. We welcome GCMD’s adoption of the Taxonomy to mobilise capital towards impactful maritime decarbonisation. MPA will continue to work with partners to strengthen Singapore’s position as a leading hub for sustainable maritime finance.”

Press Release