Maritime technology firm Accelleron‘s new report argues the main hurdle to decarbonising shipping is no longer technology onboard the ships, but the lack of e-fuels to put in them.

E-ammonia and e-methanol are likely to be available only in a small number of ports in the early stages, the company said in its latest Accelerating to Net Zero report, focused on developments in the Asia-Pacific region.

Container lines may be able to plan services around these early hubs, but bulk and tramp operators calling at smaller ports may struggle to access low-carbon fuels.

“The ships are ready,” Daniel Bischofberger, CEO of Accelleron, said.

“The net-zero technology is ready. The fuels are still missing.”

He noted that owners are preparing vessels for e-ammonia and e-methanol, but production has yet to scale to meet future bunkering demand.

“Even with delays to global net-zero regulation, progress is visible,” Bischofberger said.

According to the report, the Asia-Pacific region has emerged as an early testbed for green hydrogen and e-fuel projects, supported by strong renewable resources, government incentives and cross-sector industrial demand.

Several countries are rolling out book-and-claim systems and small, modular production units to accelerate early supply.

But Accelleron warns that shipping demand remains too weak to trigger large-scale investment.

Supply-side support is growing, but demand-side measures such as carbon pricing or e-fuel incentives are largely absent across the region.