E-methane to take off as TES launches SEA-LNG membership

Tree Energy Solutions (TES) has joined the SEA-LNG coalition. SEA-LNG’s membership now includes around 40 organizations spanning the entire methane value chain, including biomethane and e-methane producers.

TES has set the ambitious target of producing 1 million tons of e-methane by 2030. Today, it has several e-methane projects globally, some of them in partnership with SEA-LNG members, including TotalEnergies and Osaka Gas for their project in North America. Globally, TES works with strategic partners who are experts in their respective areas, such as OQAE and CPC Finland. TES projects harness renewable electricity to produce green hydrogen, which is then combined with recycled CO₂ (from biogenic sources) to form e-methane.

E‑methane is increasingly recognized as a credible 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 (lifecycle) basis. E-methane is central to the upcoming negotiations over IMO’s Net-Zero Framework (NZF) in April, with a final decision expected in October 2026. This e-fuel can be adopted using existing LNG infrastructure, including bunkering equipment and LNG-fueled vessels, making it a commercially viable investment for long-term compliance. Already, e-methane projects are being developed in Europe, North America, South America, Australia, and Asia, driven by demand from utilities. Some 150kt pa of capacity is in Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) and a further 1 Mtpa at a pre-feasibility / feasibility stage.

Marco Alverà, CEO and Co-Founder of TES, said: “E-methane is a vital tool for decarbonizing 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, said: “Industry interest in e-fuels as long‑term, scalable decarbonization 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.”

As part of efforts to scale e-methane supply for the global maritime industry, TES recently announced 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.