Finnish cleantech company Ahti has secured a second round of funding from Business Finland, the government agency supporting innovation and trade. The capital injection will accelerate development of the Ahti Pool platform, a digital system designed to help shipowners manage costs and opportunities arising from the EU’s FuelEU Maritime regulation.
The funding builds on the initial Finnish government support granted in September 2024 and comes as shipping companies are adjusting to FuelEU Maritime, which took effect in January 2025. The regulation imposes increasingly strict limits on greenhouse gas intensity for ships trading in European waters, encouraging investment in low- and zero-carbon fuels. Operators that fail to comply face rising penalties, while those exceeding requirements may benefit from trading compliance credits.
Ahti Pool provides a mechanism for shipowners to pool fuel performance across fleets, allowing vessels using e-methanol, bio-LNG and other sustainable fuels to offset ships with higher emissions profiles. In practice, this enables owners to monetise overcompliance, reduce compliance costs and increase operational flexibility. The company has already secured clients including Neste, Bore and Spliethoff, and Van Weelde.
Risto-Juhani Kariranta, Ahti CEO, commented on the grant: ‘Business Finland’s funding of Ahti Pool is recognition of the maturity of our technology and its global scaling potential. Today the platform is enabling compliance and monetisation of FuelEU Maritime overcompliance, but the technology will also streamline adherence with IMO Net Zero. This support will enable us to deepen our R&D efforts, strengthen our platform, and hire top-tier talent to meet rising demand from global shipowners and operators active in EU waters.’
Business Finland said the decision reflects both the commercial potential of Ahti’s solution and its role in global decarbonisation efforts. ‘Ahti Pool is a groundbreaking platform that helps the maritime sector comply with FuelEU Maritime regulations while delivering strong commercial results,’ said Lari Rajantie, Chief Funding Advisor at Business Finland. ‘We are pleased to continue our partnership with Ahti as they scale their solution and contribute to sustainable shipping worldwide.’
The additional capital will fund research and development and support the expansion of Ahti’s engineering team, creating new roles in Finland’s growing cleantech sector. Beyond the EU jurisdiction, the company expects its compliance pooling model to support the IMO Net-zero Framework, which is due for formal adoption in October 2025.
