How can mandates for sustainable aviation fuels help the broader bioenergy scale-up challenge? This was the central question in a presentation studio Gear Up gave at an Aviation Workshop at the 2021 European Biomass Conference and Exhibition on 29 April 2021. Eric van den Heuvel was one of the two speaker to react on the ReFuelEU Aviation Initiative the European Commission is preparing.
The presentation can be downloaded here.
February 2025, the European Commission adopted a new support mechanism on ‘SAF allowances’: used to bridge the price gap for the use of alternative fuels to accelerate the roll out of SAF.
We reviewed this mechanism in order to assess its expected impact on supporting the development of SAF market. We conclude that the policy design would require additional policy instruments to support the broader development of the SAF market.
According to studio Gear Up’s numerical analysis, the current volume of POME-biofuels deployed in the EU are in the range of current production volumes of POME residues. We advise to keep a close look on the future volumes of POME-based biofuels, given the upper limits of production. Strengthening the information position of renewable fuels supply chains with more frequent auditing and historical data of POME-oil production are needed.
Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) are renewable fuels that replace fossil based kerosine in aircrafts and are seen as an important option to mitigate climate emissions in the aviation sector. Generally, these alternative fuels are more expensive than their fossil counterpart, kerosene. In order to support the uptake of SAF, the European Commission has introduced several policy instruments.
