How First Movers are helping drive decarbonization through demand

In a period marked by geopolitical tensions, divergent regulatory priorities and persistent macroeconomic volatility, the need for global decarbonization progress has never been greater.

In 2021, half of the emissions reductions needed to reach net zero depended on technologies that were not yet commercially available. The World Economic Forum’s First Movers Coalition (FMC) was launched to create the demand signal required to help scale these breakthrough decarbonizing technologies through the market.

Since then, significant progress has been made. By 2023, the International Energy Agency (IEA) estimated that the share of required emissions reductions dependent on early-stage technologies had fallen to 35%. Yet, a substantial gap still remains.

Today, the FMC represents 101 companies that have pledged a total of $19 billion in purchasing commitments by 2030 across hard-to-abate mobility industries including aviation, shipping and trucking and materials sectors including cement and concrete, steel, aluminium as well as carbon dioxide removal (CDR).

These commitments would help reduce 26 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO₂) through purchasing alone. Five years ahead of the commitment target, members are already moving towards implementing their pledges and have collectively signed more than 130 offtake agreements.

Across mobility sectors, infrastructure limitations, insufficient supply and high green premiums continue to slow the adoption of low emission mobility solutions. Companies are overcoming these barriers through coordinated investments in supply chains, infrastructure and alternative carbon accounting opportunities.

In aviation, sustainable aviation fuel remains expensive and unevenly distributed. To address this challenge, American Express Global Business Travel, together with a consortium of partners, helped establish Avelia, one of the first large-scale book-and-claim platforms for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).

Avelia enables corporate customers to claim the emissions benefits of SAF, even when the fuel is delivered elsewhere. By June 2025, the platform had enabled more than 155 million litres of SAF to enter the global network and avoided more than 370,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide. This shows how innovative accounting systems can unlock new pathways for scaling supply.

In road freight, the uptake of zero-emission trucks remains limited by the lack of charging and depot infrastructure. Freight company Toll Group is addressing this challenge through an investment of $43 million in charging infrastructure, including 28 electric trucks and 30 dedicated charging hubs. By building infrastructure alongside vehicle deployment, Toll Group is proving the viability of electric freight corridors and contributing to the expansion of zero-emission trucking.

In maritime transport, the adoption of low-carbon fuels has long been constrained by supply chain and vessel readiness challenges. Early movers are now operating vessels powered by cleaner fuels such as methanol, sending demand signals to shipyards and fuel producers.

Mitsui O S K Lines plans to deploy nine ammonia dual fuel ships beginning in 2026, while also investing in carbon transformation company Twelve to support the development of clean marine fuels. These actions illustrate how decarbonized maritime supply chains become feasible when buyers and suppliers advance together.

Taken collectively, these examples show that technology adoption depends not only on innovation but also on the ecosystems that support it. Companies are investing in those ecosystems by strengthening supply chains, enabling infrastructure and creating financing and contracting models required to scale low carbon mobility.

Sectors such as aluminium, steel, and cement and concrete, require fundamental production process changes and high capital expenditure investments to reach near-zero emissions. Companies are showing that breakthroughs occur when buyers collaborate directly with suppliers to bring advanced technologies to market.

This year marks a breakthrough in zero-emissions aluminium production. The first commercial-scale implementation of inert anode technology has been achieved at mining giant Rio Tinto’s Alma smelter in Québec. This is the result of collaboration between aluminium producer Alcoa and Rio Tinto, the founding partners of ELYSIS, (listed in the FMC’s First Suppliers Hub), together with the Government of Canada. Their commitment has resulted in the commissioning of the world’s first zero-emission aluminium smelter.

In cement and concrete, energy company Vattenfall and green cement producer Cemvision have formed a commercial agreement that enables Vattenfall to fulfil its commitment. Cemvision will supply Vattenfall with 20% of its cement and concrete demand from 2028. Cemvision’s cement, produced leveraging technology using recycled industrial by-products and fossil-free energy, will offer 80% of emission reductions by 2028 and up to 95% by 2030.

Energy equipment manufacturer GE Vernova has contracted zero-emission steel for wind tower production from First Supplier and steel maker SSAB. This material was developed through the integration of hydrogen-reduced iron produced with HYBRIT technology at SSAB’s facility in Iowa. The resulting steel is third-party verified and meets thresholds for near zero emissions established by the International Energy Agency and the First Movers Coalition.

By supporting pilot projects and validating new production methods, companies are helping bring next-generation materials into the commercial mainstream and laying the foundation for decarbonized industrial value chains.

The development of a durable and diversified carbon dioxide removal ecosystem has long been constrained by the absence of stable demand.

This year, technology giant Microsoft expanded its portfolio of bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) and direct air capture (DAC) solutions. Its 10-year agreement with heating provider Hafslund Celsio for 1.1 million tonnes of removals, combined with its expanded deal with energy company Stockholm Exergi for 5.08 million tonnes, represents one of the largest corporate carbon removal procurement strategies in the world.

Other successes include Google’s 200,000 tonnes purchase from Terradot’s Enhanced Rock Weathering (ERW) project. ERW involves spreading finely ground minerals across forest soils, croplands or coastal areas, where they dissolve in water and naturally absorb CO₂, storing it for hundreds to thousands of years.

Together, these agreements amount to more than 6 million tonnes of contracted carbon removals. This represents a significant share of the carbon removal target set within the FMC and is helping shift the economics of the sector by providing long-term revenue certainty and encouraging supplier investment.

Despite significant progress, industrial decarbonization still faces high capital requirements, complex permitting processes and fragmented policy environments.

Broader industry adoption and an enabling policy framework are essential to achieve the scale required for cost convergence with traditional production methods and meaningful global emissions reductions.

More harmonized policies, innovative blended finance mechanisms, sharing costs along the value chain, enabling chain of custody models and diversifying types of contracts can expand pools of demand, which will be essential to accelerate deployment across sectors.

The First Movers Coalition shows that ambitious demand, combined with strategic collaboration, can accelerate decarbonization in even the hardest-to-abate sectors. By investing in supply chains, infrastructure and breakthrough technologies, and by giving emerging suppliers visibility through the First Supplier Hub, companies are shaping the markets that will form the foundation of a net-zero economy.

But there is no room for complacency. This is why the newly released First Movers Coalition’s impact brief takes stock of members’ pathways towards fulfilling their commitments as part of a wider assessment of best practices to catalyse early markets.

Further in 2026, the First Movers Coalition will continue to explore the following questions: What are the mechanisms that have demonstrated they can work in addressing the green premium? How can we leverage new markets and key geographies to ensure the availability of supply and further grow the demand signal and global purchasing power for near-zero products? And who are the new actors and what are the new engagement models that need to be pursued to continue to remain relevant and impactful in a troubled world?