Germany plans €17,000/t e-SAF penalty

Spanish Market: E-fuels, Hydrogen
20/06/25

Germany is planning to impose penalties of €17,000 for each tonne that fuel suppliers fall short of their hydrogen-based synthetic aviation fuel (e-SAF) obligations, under a draft bill implementing the EU's revised Renewable Energy Directive (RED III).

The draft, seen by Argus, allows for the penalty level to be adjusted in future.

The EU's ReFuelEU Aviation legislation mandates e-SAF blending from 2030. Fuel suppliers must ensure that e-SAF makes up at least 1.2pc of their overall aviation fuel supply on average in 2030–31, with a minimum of 0.7pc each year. The share rises to 2pc in 2032, 5pc in 2035 and 35pc by 2050.

Member states are required to set penalties at least twice the price difference between e-SAF produced from renewable hydrogen and conventional jet fuel.

Reference prices published by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency earlier this year implied minimum penalties of €13,922/t. Germany's proposed €17,000/t penalty would significantly exceed that level.

E-SAF can be produced using renewable or non-fossil low-carbon hydrogen, such as hydrogen from nuclear-powered electrolysis. The legislation also permits the direct use of hydrogen in aviation, although this is widely seen as a longer-term prospect.

Germany had previously proposed its own national e-SAF quotas but scrapped those plans following the introduction of EU-wide mandates.

Most planned e-SAF production facilities in Europe and globally remain in early development stages. Industry participants have repeatedly called for greater regulatory clarity — including on penalties — and additional support to unlock final investment decisions.

By Stefan Krumpelmann

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10/07/25

Japan’s Sumitomo to invest $10bn in UK clean energy

Tokyo, 10 July (Argus) — Japanese trading firm Sumitomo has agreed to invest a total of £7.5bn ($10.2bn) by 2035 in key clean energy projects in the UK. The agreement was made with the UK's Department for Business and Trade's Office for Investment on 9 July. The £7.5bn total includes investments Sumitomo made before this deal. The investments will be focused on key offshore wind and hydrogen projects. Sumitomo is also actively exploring the commercialisation of next-generation technologies such as fusion energy and energy management with storage solutions, the firm said. Sumitomo did not disclose more details on what projects it will invest in, when requested for comment. Sumitomo is currently involved in a low-carbon hydrogen production project at the Bacton gas terminal in north Norfolk, CO2 storage in the North Sea and the Peak Cluster CO2 shipping project. The trading house has also invested in offshore wind power businesses. Sumitomo chose to partner with the UK because of the government's support for clean energy businesses, said the firm, and it intends to enhance its collaboration with the UK to develop its clean energy portfolio. By Nanami Oki Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Q&A: Arup urges joined-up approach to H2 deployment

08/07/25

Q&A: Arup urges joined-up approach to H2 deployment

Mumbai, 8 July (Argus) — UK-headquartered engineering firm Arup has supported governments around the world with policy, regulatory and infrastructure advisory services across the renewable hydrogen value chain. The firm has also carried out front-end engineering design for projects geared towards producing renewable hydrogen or derivatives. Argus spoke with Arup's India hydrogen lead and vice-president of the Hydrogen Association of India, Sachin Chugh, about the evolving global hydrogen market and the critical gaps that must be addressed to accelerate deployment. Edited highlights follow: How do you assess green hydrogen's development globally? The hydrogen space is fragmented. I would not say it is slow. Production capacities are increasing, scale is getting enhanced and we are seeing larger-sized electrolysers coming on line. The bottlenecks I see are production costs, technology maturity and uncertainty around hydrogen trade protocols, such as the standardisation of products. The recent definitions are not helping a uniform development of the ecosystem globally. Offtake and technology risks are talked about a lot and investors are already pricing them in. But I would like to highlight another risk — co-ordination. We must understand that hydrogen is a secondary molecule. And it has a multi-nodal chain — renewables, electrolyser, transportation, conversion, shipping terminals and final use. There are lot of independent elements influencing the value chain. If we are not linking these individual elements together for optimisation, this brings a lot of risk. At Arup, we have been trying to integrate this value chain and minimise these risks. What is your view on India's plan to export 70pc of the 5mn t/yr of renewable hydrogen that it aims to be producing by 2030? The 70pc figure is coming from the fact that there is a cost differential and limited appetite from local industry to absorb that additional cost in their processes. We're talking about sectors like fertilisers, which are highly subsidised. Even the refining sector is under a lot of pressure because of geopolitical developments. That said, focusing only on exports can be catastrophic for India. If we look at the west, the EU is driving demand for green hydrogen. But when we look at the Middle East, we see more emphasis on low-carbon hydrogen. Competing with them on cost is going to be challenging. Putting all our eggs in one basket can be risky. Exports should act as a catalyst to trigger demand, but the foundation must be domestic demand. We need to identify markets within India that have the appetite to absorb that cost differential. It's about addressing the right pain point in sectors such as oil and gas. The pain point isn't merely the inclusion of hydrogen in the ecosystem, but how to mitigate CO2 emissions. When you marry these two — growing a green hydrogen market and using that hydrogen to mitigate emissions, not just through direct substitution, but by combining CO2 into e-fuels — that's where the opportunity lies. Even blending just 0.1pc of e-fuels — which will naturally be costlier than conventional fuels — can still bring considerable volumes into the ecosystem. Are there challenges for the hydrogen sector that are specific to Asian countries and that differ from the EU or US? The nature of business is completely different in Asia. Here, we have a cost-sensitive market where affordability for the masses is one of the paramount decisions when it comes to energy. A lot of calibration is required when pushing green hydrogen in Asian markets. The real challenge is Asia's aspiration to adopt hydrogen without localisation... I'm not considering China here. If the technology comes from Europe or China, one of the biggest challenges is the lack of real-environment performance. These technologies have been developed in regions with very different grid intermittency, and environmental conditions. We don't know how these technologies will perform here and that introduces risk. On the policy side, Asia lacks inter-regional hydrogen diplomacy. In the EU region, you see common platforms to push the hydrogen economy. In Asia, there is no representation of hydrogen on platforms like the South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation or the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. What kind of innovations could improve project economics? One area is trying to reduce electrolysers' requirement for 24-7 electricity. The idea here is to develop direct DC-coupled hydrogen microgrids, so that energy storage systems are not required in between. If we can develop something like this, it can reduce costs. Secondly, using artificial intelligence for two key purposes — predictive maintenance of machines and dynamic load shaping. At Arup, we are doing a lot of work in this space. This, along with energy optimisation, could impact up to 15-20pc of the lifecycle costs of hydrogen. We are also trying to address the fact that the engineering world lacks hydrogen-specific references. The current engineering models used are retrofits from the hydrocarbon sector. We're assuming many things based on that experience — using those factors and scaling parameters to design hydrogen plants, which will introduce a lot of engineering risks in the future. Particularly for the Indian ecosystem, there is a need to devise the stage-gate approach in these new energy domains. The mechanism that can move from concept to feasibility in a phased manner is currently missing due to an assumption that the hydrogen and green molecule industry is mature and can be scaled up with the traditional approach. What is your view on the Indian production-linked incentive (PLI) schemes for green hydrogen production and electrolyser manufacturing? We need to understand the fundamental deficiencies of the PLI scheme. It is focused on triggering production, but doesn't cover system-level integration, and it ignores the ecosystem interdependence — things like land, utilities, renewable energy and offtake. This can lead to stranded assets. This is a concern for companies, which is why they are reshaping their strategies and the pace at which they are moving forward. And the scheme doesn't de-risk demand. Lastly, the scheme favours incumbents over innovators. There's a need for traditional energy incumbents to align with innovators, start-ups and incubators to find novel solutions. What else can the government do to support the sector? More than subsidies, what's really needed are predictive sovereign guarantees from the government, meaning price floors that are linked to macro variables in the hydrogen ecosystem — like renewable energy tariffs, ammonia demand, etc. This will make the system self-correcting. The guarantor won't need to overpay, and sovereign guarantees would kick in when there's stress in the market. This would depend on how commodity prices behave in international markets, for products like methanol and ammonia, where we see a lot of price volatility. It's very similar to how crop insurance works in agriculture. There, adjustments are made based on changing weather conditions. In this case, the weather conditions can be replaced by the ecosystem — such as changing renewable energy prices or fluctuations in ammonia and methanol prices. Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

EU CBAM export plan only partial solution: Industry

03/07/25

EU CBAM export plan only partial solution: Industry

Brussels, 3 July (Argus) — Industry has continued to urge a more comprehensive export adjustment under the EU carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) following the European Commission's announcement of a forthcoming proposal yesterday, with some calling for full free emissions trading system (ETS) allocations for production destined for exports. Norwegian fertilizer firm Yara said the CBAM solution is "not good enough". The commission yesterday announced plans to reduce the risk of carbon leakage for goods exported from the EU in CBAM sectors under proposals to be presented by the end of the year, with the aim of providing equal treatment for all goods, whether produced, sold in the EU, or imported and exported. The commission's stated plans are "not good enough" for Monica Andres, Yara's executive vice-president for Europe. "We need a watertight and timely CBAM implementation to level the playing field with more carbon-intensive imports," Andres added, noting the commission's new proposal does not offer sufficient predictability and leads to an "incomplete" CBAM applying from 1 January 2026. "We would have preferred a solution which maintains full free allocations for the part of the production destined for exports," said BusinessEurope director general Markus Beyrer, adding CBAM is "untested and still incomplete" in its design. European steel association Eurofer said the commission's announcement on CBAM exports lacks the actual legal proposal and details on its design. CBAM sectors had proposed a simple mechanism based on free allocation for exports, Eurofer said, noting a "very limited" impact in reversing industrial decarbonisation given the proposed EU greenhouse gas reduction target of 90pc by 2040 against 1990 levels. Refinery industry association FuelsEurope has similarly called for any CBAM changes to maintain sufficient levels of free carbon allowance allocations and include measures to protect exports, if the measure's scope is extended to the refining sector. The scope of the mechanism so far includes cement, iron and steel, aluminium, fertilisers, electricity and hydrogen. The commission is consulting until 26 August on extending CBAM's scope to some downstream products and on circumvention risks. EU states and the European Parliament recently agreed to CBAM revisions exempting some 90pc of originally covered EU companies from reporting obligations. By Dafydd ab Iago Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Japanese firms advance LCO2/methanol carrier project

03/07/25

Japanese firms advance LCO2/methanol carrier project

Tokyo, 3 July (Argus) — Japanese shipping firm Mitsui OSK Lines (Mol) and shipbuilder Mitsubishi Shipbuilding have made progress in developing an ocean-going liquified CO2 (LCO2) and methanol carrier, which would play a key role in establishing the country's carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) value chains. Mol and Mitsubishi have obtained approval in-principle (AiP) from Japanese classification society Class NK for their design concept of a LCO2/methanol carrier. The vessel would ship CO2 out of Japan and deliver CO2-based synthetic methanol (e-methanol) on return voyages to the resource-poor country, the companies announced on 30 June. The AiP certifies that the basic design of the vessel meets international regulation standards, such as technical requirements, as well as relevant safety restrictions covering the transportation of dangerous chemicals and liquefied gases in bulk. This is the world's first issuance of an AiP for a LCO2/methanol carrier, Class NK said. The approval is a major step forward for the companies, which hope to develop the vessel for commercialisation. The target date for its commissioning is still unclear. Mol expects the carrier to help meet Japan's growing demand for CO2 exports and e-methane imports with higher transport efficiency, unlike the use of a dedicated vessel for CO2 or methanol, which results in empty-cargo operation on half of the trips. E-methanol can be produced using CO2 and renewable hydrogen, which will contribute to decarbonising a variety of industries including the maritime shipping sector. Mol has previously invested in US synthetic fuel (e-fuel) producer HIF Global, while working with Japanese refiner Idemitsu and HIF subsidiaries HIF USA and HIF Asia Pacific to develop supply chains for synthetic fuel and e-methanol as well as CO2. HIF plans to produce around 4mn t/yr of e-methanol equivalent by 2030 at its production sites in Tasmania in Australia, Matagorda in the US, Magallanes in Chile and Paysandu in Uruguay by using green hydrogen and CO2, Mol has said. CCUS value chains would help fossil fuel-reliant Japan reduce its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 60pc by the April 2035 to March 2036 fiscal year and by 73pc by 2040-41, against 2013-14 levels, before achieving the net-zero emissions by 2050. The Mol group, for its part, aims to reduce emissions intensity in transportation by 45pc against 2019 levels by 2035, as it works towards overall net-zero emissions by 2050. Japan's GHG emissions totalled 1.017bn t of CO2 in 2023-24 , down by 4.2pc from a year earlier to the lowest in 34 years, according to the country's environment ministry. This also reflected a 27pc decline against a 2013-14 baseline. By Japan Newsdesk Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

EU plans measures to support exports in CBAM sectors

02/07/25

EU plans measures to support exports in CBAM sectors

London, 2 July (Argus) — The European Commission said today that it intends to present plans by the end of the year to reduce the risk of carbon leakage for goods exported from the EU in sectors covered by the bloc's carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM). The proposal will be designed to provide equal treatment for all goods, "whether produced and sold in the EU, imported into the EU or exported", the commission said. The measure would be set up for a "defined period" and then reviewed in light of the planned 2026 revision of the EU emissions trading system (ETS). No further details were provided. Industries have long raised concerns about risks to competitiveness for products in CBAM sectors exported from the EU, given that they must still pay carbon costs while the mechanism only applies an effective carbon price on goods imported into the bloc. German industry federation BDI warned earlier this year that CBAM provides "no answer" to the problem of exports, while European cement and steel associations have called for export provisions under the mechanism. But there are concerns that introducing export protection measures could put CBAM at odds with World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules. Russia has already raised a CBAM dispute at the WTO , contending that the calculation of existing free ETS allocations for industry — which includes the value of exports — counts as an "alleged export subsidy" in contravention of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994, the Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures, and the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures. While deeming the measure an "important step", non-governmental organisation Bellona Europa today criticised the lack of information in the commission's initial proposal, which it said "was not presented with sufficient detail and does not provide a clear pathway for a long-term solution to the risk of carbon leakage from exports". "If rebates are the chosen path, they must be conditional on effective and serious decarbonisation commitments," Bellona said. The commission launched a separate consultation this week on whether to extend CBAM's scope to some downstream products to limit carbon leakage from the measure. It is seeking views on whether CBAM causes carbon leakage downstream, and whether extending its scope could reduce this risk or incentivise the take-up of low-carbon EU goods. It also asks respondents whether such an extension would increase costs for EU manufacturers or consumers, the extent of the administrative burden it would entail for EU importers, or non-EU producers and exporters, as well as the potential costs of related reporting requirements. The consultation also seeks views on whether CBAM in its current form poses circumvention risks, including via widely varying embedded emissions under the same goods categories, or resource shuffling, where companies choose to export their cleanest products to the EU without reducing their overall emissions. The consultation closes on 26 August. By Victoria Hatherick Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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Germany plans €17,000/t e-SAF penalty

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Japan’s Sumitomo to invest $10bn in UK clean energy

Japan’s Sumitomo to invest $10bn in UK clean energy

Q&A: Arup urges joined-up approach to H2 deployment

Q&A: Arup urges joined-up approach to H2 deployment

EU CBAM export plan only partial solution: Industry

EU CBAM export plan only partial solution: Industry

Japanese firms advance LCO2/methanol carrier project

Japanese firms advance LCO2/methanol carrier project

EU plans measures to support exports in CBAM sectors

EU plans measures to support exports in CBAM sectors

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