EU reaches political agreement on renewable fuel mandates for aviation

26 April 2023

The European Parliament and the Council reached a political agreement on the ReFuelEU Aviation proposal, which would require fuel suppliers to blend sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) with jet fuel in increasing amounts from 2025.

The new rules would require:

• Aviation fuel suppliers to supply a minimum share of SAF at EU airports, starting at 2% by 2025, moving to 6% by 2030, 20% by 2035, 34% by 2040, and reaching 70% by 2050. The new EU jet fuel blend will also need to contain a minimum share of synthetic fuels, starting at 1.2% in 2030, reaching 5% by 2035, and 35% by 2050;
• Aircraft operators departing from EU airports to ensure that the yearly quantity of aviation fuel uplifted at a given EU airport is at least 90% of the yearly aviation fuel required, to avoid emissions related to extra weight caused by ‘tankering’ practices (deliberately carrying excess fuel to avoid refueling with SAF);
• Airports to ensure that their fueling infrastructure is available and fit for SAF distribution.

The blending mandate covers biofuels (except for those that are explicitly excluded), recycled carbon fuels, and synthetic aviation fuels (e-fuels)—including those produced with nuclear power. The excluded biofuels are those made from food and feed crops as well as biofuels from intermediate crops, palm fatty acid distillate (PFAD), and palm and soy-derived materials.

Airlines are set to receive about 2 billion euros in funding from the EU carbon market to help them switch to SAF.

The political agreement now requires formal adoption by the Parliament and the Council. Once this process is completed, the new legislation will be published in the EU Official Journal and enter into force with immediate effect.

Source: European Council