EU eyes slightly higher 2030 SAF mandate

EU transport ministers are considering a slightly higher target mandate in 2030 for minimum shares of sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs) uplifted by aircraft operators, and will allow more ambitious countries to opt for higher shares.

Ministers meet on 2 June in Luxembourg to discuss agreement on the European Commission's July 2021 package of climate and energy proposals, including an EU regulation specifically establishing a minimum SAF share for uplifting at the bloc's airports.

The text up for approval by ministers would increase the minimum share of SAFs from 5pc, as originally proposed by the commission, to 6pc from 1 January 2030, of which an unchanged minimum share of 0.7pc should be synthetic aviation fuels, including hydrogen.

Aside from increasing the commission's target, ministers are expected to leave untouched proposed commission targets obliging aircraft landing at EU airports to uplift a 2pc blended SAF target by 2025, 20pc by 2035, 32pc by 2040 and 63pc by 2050.

The commission's proposals for a minimum share of synthetic aviation fuels, including hydrogen, will remain unchanged. It is set to rise from 0.7pc by 2030 to 5pc by 2035, 8pc by 2040, 11pc by 2045 and 28pc by 2050. Synthetic aviation fuels are defined as drop-in aviation fuels of non-biological origin complying with lifecycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions savings, including for low-carbon hydrogen, of at least 70pc when used in aviation. The text also provides a certain room for member states obliging aircraft to uplift a higher minimum share of synthetic aviation fuels at their airports.

"Some of these drop-in fuels will need hydrogen. A higher uptake of renewable fuels of non-biological origin (RFNBOs) will need hydrogen," said Laurent Donceel, senior policy director with industry association Airlines for Europe (A4E). "But it means a totally different fueling infrastructure from liquid fuels," he said.

The European Parliament is expected to vote in July on the amendments, and after the summer, talks between parliament and EU member states are expected to begin on a final legal text setting out the SAF blending mandates.

Ministers, like parliament, appear to maintain the exclusion from SAFs for feed and food crop-based fuels.

The industry is already preparing for higher targets for 2030 than those set out in the commission's proposal coming from both EU member states and the European Parliament. "In the European Parliament, we've seen amendments to go up to 10pc in 2030 or even more," said Donceel.

But reaching higher targets should not come about by using certain crop-based feedstocks, he said. "We certainly don't want to use any feedstocks that are by-products of palm oil or sugar cane production. This is the reason why we say targets need to be reasonable in the early phases," Donceel said.

By Dafydd ab Iago