Tree Energy Solutions (TES) has joined the SEA-LNG coalition, taking the organisation’s membership to around 40 companies across the methane value chain, including biomethane and e-methane producers.

The green energy company has set a target of producing 1 million tonnes of e-methane by 2030 and is developing several projects globally, including a North American project with SEA-LNG members TotalEnergies and Osaka Gas. TES is also working with strategic partners, including OQAE and CPC Finland, on other initiatives.

TES said its projects use renewable electricity to produce green hydrogen, which is then combined with recycled CO₂ from biogenic sources to create e-methane.

E-methane is increasingly being seen as a potential route to meeting the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) 2050 climate ambitions, with the potential to deliver net zero emissions on a well-to-wake basis. The fuel is also central to upcoming negotiations over the IMO Net-Zero Framework (NZF) in April, with a final decision expected in October 2026.

The fuel can be used with existing LNG infrastructure, including bunkering equipment and LNG-fuelled vessels, making it a commercially viable option for long-term compliance. E-methane projects are already being developed in Europe, North America, South America, Australia and Asia, driven by demand from utilities. Around 150,000 tonnes per annum of capacity is in front-end engineering design (FEED), while a further 1 million tonnes per annum is at pre-feasibility or feasibility stage.

Marco Alverà, CEO and co-founder of TES, said: “E-methane is a vital tool for decarbonising the maritime transport sector. It is a proven, climate-neutral fuel that is identical to natural gas on a molecular level. It reuses existing infrastructure and can be deployed immediately to existing gas networks and pipelines. Joining SEA-LNG gives us the opportunity to work alongside like-minded first movers across the value chain to make e-methane available as a marine fuel.”

Steve Esau, COO of SEA-LNG, commented: “Industry interest in e-fuels as long-term, scalable decarbonisation solutions is growing. E-methane will be critical to meeting demand for practical and realistic options. TES has been at the forefront of bringing e-methane to scale, offering substantial benefits to ship operators in terms of emissions reductions and commercial viability. E-methane is not only capable of generating FuelEU Maritime overcompliance but also is eligible for the regulation’s renewable fuel of non-biological origin (RFNBO) multiplier effect.”

TES recently announced that it is advancing development plans alongside OX2 and Södra for a facility designed to produce 1.2 TWh of e-methane annually by capturing biogenic CO₂ from Södra’s pulp mill at Värö and combining it with hydrogen produced onsite using renewable electricity.

SEA-LNG is a UK-registered not-for-profit collaborative industry foundation with members across the LNG value chain, including fuel suppliers, users, engine and asset providers, and class societies.