The Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation, AIM Horizon Investments and Eastern Pacific Shipping announced on 20 October 2026 that the Fund for Energy Efficiency Technologies (FEET) has financed two wind-assisted propulsion system projects, marking the fund's first deployment.
The partnership will see FEET provide capital for two wind-assisted propulsion systems, commonly abbreviated WAPS, to be fitted through projects managed by Eastern Pacific Shipping. The announcement was published by reports on 20 October 2026.
FEET was created to channel investment into verified energy efficiency technologies and to tie those investments to measurable fuel and regulatory savings. The fund is described in the announcement as the first to link verified savings from energy efficiency technologies to financing, and this transaction constitutes its inaugural financing activity.
AIM Horizon Investments is participating as an investor alongside the Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation, which has been involved in the fund's establishment and in validating the performance metrics underpinning FEET. Eastern Pacific Shipping is the operator implementing the two wind-assisted projects that FEET will finance.
What the financing covers The financing announced covers the installation of wind-assisted propulsion systems on two projects under Eastern Pacific Shipping's management. The parties described the projects as the first use of FEET capital and positioned them as demonstration investments for the fund's model.
The announcement emphasised that the fund will rely on verified performance outcomes to assess savings and the regulatory benefits that support returns to investors. Verification and measurement were presented as central to FEET's structure and to its ability to connect efficiency gains with capital flows.
Significance for decarbonisation finance Backers said the FEET transaction aims to create a template for future capital deployment to energy efficiency technologies in shipping. The fund's linking of verified savings to financing is intended to make investment decisions more directly tied to operational emissions and compliance outcomes.
The parties involved framed the deals as a test of FEET's approach and an initial step toward scaling up similar investments, with AIM Horizon Investments and the Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation supplying investor and verification capacities and Eastern Pacific Shipping providing the operational platform.
The announcement reported on 20 October 2026 represents the fund's first practical application of its model. Further details on project scope, vessel identities or financial terms were not included in the published summary.
This first deployment will be watched by shipowners, investors and decarbonisation practitioners as an early example of financing tied to measurable energy efficiency outcomes. The FEET model, if expanded, could influence how capital is channelled into retrofits and new installations that reduce fuel consumption and regulatory exposure.
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