On November 17, the 2025 World Maritime Merchants Conference, themed “Breaking Barriers and Embracing Change for Sustainable Development,” opened in Hong Kong, China. During the conference, the “International Green Fuel Alliance” (IGFA), jointly initiated by China Merchants Industry Group’s controlled enterprise Huashang Energy Technology Corp., Ltd. and upstream and downstream industrial chain partners, held its inauguration ceremony. The first batch of over 30 global industrial institutions officially joined forces to build a shipping decarbonization ecosystem.
Green fuels are a crucial pillar of the global energy transition and the essential pathway for the international shipping and aviation industries to achieve net-zero emissions. Currently, as the world accelerates its push for carbon neutrality and energy transition, green hydrogen and its derivatives—including green ammonia, green methanol, sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), synthetic fuels (E-fuels), and biofuels—are gradually becoming key pathways for deep decarbonization in the shipping, aviation, and transportation sectors.
Both the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) have set targets to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. The European Union has introduced two regulatory frameworks, the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) and the FuelEU Maritime regulation, to promote decarbonization in the maritime transport industry.
A relevant person in charge from Huashang Energy Technology Corp., Ltd. stated that the current demand for marine biodiesel, marine bio-natural gas (RNG), and green methanol is approximately 200 million tons, 40 million tons, and 6 million tons, respectively. The scale of global cross-border trade in green fuels is expected to reach hundreds of billions of US dollars. Under an accelerated transition scenario, sustainable fuels could meet 35% of the global shipping industry’s fuel demand by 2035.
It is understood that due to differences in energy structures, technological levels, policy mechanisms, and market maturity across different countries and regions, the development of the green fuel industry still faces structural challenges such as inconsistent standards, lack of mutual recognition of systems, imperfect market mechanisms, and insufficient production-demand alignment. The establishment of the International Green Fuel Alliance aims to address these challenges.
Supported by the Transport and Logistics Bureau of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, Huashang Energy Technology Corp., Ltd. and the International Clean Fuel Forum (Macao) acted as the main initiators, uniting enterprises and organizations from across the global industrial chain to jointly establish the “International Green Fuel Alliance.” The first batch of alliance members includes key players in the industrial chain such as China Classification Society, Bureau Veritas, Port of Sines Authority (Portugal), Sinopec (Hong Kong) Limited, The Hong Kong and China Gas Company Limited, China Merchants Energy Transportation Co., Ltd., and China Nanshan Development (Group) Co., Ltd., covering over 30 institutions from 10 countries and regions globally.
The alliance will leverage the strategic hub status of Hong Kong and Macao to jointly tackle the three major bottlenecks in the green fuel industry: “lack of mutual recognition of standards, mismatch between production and demand, and absence of financial tools.” As a next step, the alliance plans to establish an information exchange platform for the green fuel industry, research and assist in the formulation of green fuel industry policies, drive collaboration and innovation in green fuel demonstration projects, participate in setting green fuel industry standards and rules, promote the innovative linkage between green finance and carbon markets, and help Hong Kong become an international green fuel trade center.
Deng Renjie, Deputy General Manager of China Merchants Group, and Qiu Zhuohang, Permanent Secretary for Transport and Logistics of the Hong Kong SAR Government, as representatives of the supporting units, jointly pressed the button symbolizing the official launch of the alliance.
It was reported that the World Maritime Merchants Conference was first held in 2021 and has been successfully held four times in Hong Kong to date, becoming an important platform for global shipping industry dialogue. The 2025 World Maritime Merchants Conference was led by China Merchants Group and co-organized by the Transport and Logistics Bureau of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, the Baltic and International Maritime Council (BIMCO), the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), and the Hong Kong Shipowners Association (HKSOA). Over 1,300 relevant authorities and leaders from global shipping, ports, trade, logistics, financial institutions, and industry regulatory bodies attended the conference in person.
