Phi Earth, American Bureau of Shipping collaborate to support next-gen maritime fuels

Photo: Phi Earth Technologies

Phi Earth Technologies, a biodigital technology company focused on regenerative biomass systems, announced April 23 that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the American Bureau of Shipping, a leading global classification society and technical advisor to the maritime industry, establishing a technical collaboration to support the development of regenerative biomass systems as a credible foundation for next-generation maritime fuels.

The signing ceremony took place at ABS’s booth at the Singapore Maritime Week April 22, underscoring the growing industry focus on scalable, low-carbon fuel pathways and the systems required to support them.

As the maritime sector works toward decarbonization targets, attention is increasingly turning upstream toward how fuel inputs are produced, measured and verified.

The collaboration between Phi Earth and ABS is centered on strengthening this foundation, with a focus on ensuring that emerging biomass-based fuel pathways are supported by transparent and auditable systems.

Through this collaboration, ABS will provide technical guidance to help shape frameworks for biomass provenance, traceability and lifecycle assessment.

The work will connect upstream production with downstream fuel and industrial applications, enabling clearer evaluation of carbon intensity and environmental performance across the value chain.

Phi Earth contributes its regenerative biomass platform, which integrates agroforestry systems with digital monitoring and verification tools to produce scalable feedstocks for energy and industrial use.

The partnership aims to bridge a longstanding gap between land-based biomass production and the technical requirements of maritime fuels.

“The marine biofuel industry doesn’t have a demand problem, it has a supply-chain problem,” said Sean Holt, Phi Earth’s president of international. “Shipowners and fuel buyers are ready to move, but the feedstock infrastructure they need to move with confidence simply isn’t there yet—no batch-level traceability, no unbroken chain of custody, no carbon-intensity number that holds up under audit. That’s the gap Phi Earth was built to close. This MOU with ABS is about building the assurance architecture that makes upstream biomass a legitimate, bankable input to the maritime-fuel supply chain—traceable from the ground up, audit-ready at every node, and structured for the kind of scale the International Maritime Organization timeline demands. We believe the future of marine biofuels is won or lost upstream, and this is where we’re building.”

In addition to marine-fuel applications, the collaboration will explore broader opportunities across industrial and circular-carbon pathways, reflecting increasing demand for solutions that deliver both emissions reduction and long-term carbon value.

The agreement highlights the growing role of regenerative biomass as a viable component of the maritime energy transition, according to Phi Earth, and reinforces the importance of cross-sector collaboration in building the systems, standards and confidence required to bring new fuel pathways to scale.