World’s first pay-as-you-save retrofit fund for ships raises $35 million

A global coalition led by the Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation (GCMD) has secured commitments of up to $35 million for the newly established Fund for Energy Efficiency Technologies (FEET), surpassing its initial fundraising target. The fund is backed by AIM Horizon Investments, the Development Bank of Japan (DBJ), ING, and DBS Bank.

Positioned as the first of its kind in the maritime sector, FEET introduce a pay-as-you-save financing model for vessel retrofits, allowing shipowners to repay investments directly from verified fuel savings and regulatory cost reductions. This structure aims to overcome persistent adoption challenges around energy-efficiency technologies (EETs), such as uncertain fuel-saving outcomes, difficulty predicting returns, and misaligned incentives between shipowners and charterers.

FEET will provide up to 100% upfront financing for retrofitting projects. Its model relies on unsecured leases that operate independently of a vessel’s existing mortgage—removing a major financing hurdle that has historically discouraged shipowners from pursuing energy-efficiency upgrades.

By using blended capital and diversifying retrofit projects across different vessel types and operators, the fund seeks to manage financial exposure while keeping borrowing costs competitive for the industry.

GCMD and AIM Horizon Investments plan to expand FEET to $500 million by 2030, a scale that could support retrofits for approximately 200 vessels. The initiative is expected to accelerate global deployment of energy-saving technologies, helping the shipping industry progress toward decarbonisation targets for 2030 and beyond.