The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) published its first annual report on the implementation of the ReFuelEU Aviation Regulation this week. The report provides a comprehensive overview of the state of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) uptake across the EU in 2024 and assesses the market’s readiness to meet upcoming obligations under the Regulation.
According to the findings, implementation of ReFuelEU aviation has already stimulated increased SAF production capacity within the EU. This positive trend confirms that the EU is on track to meet the overall mandatory SAF blending target in 2030, which is 6%.
The report confirms that almost all SAF used in 2024 was biofuel, produced from used cooking oil (81%) and waste animal fats (17%). This shows that the development of synthetic fuels (eSAF) remains in its early stages in the EU. The SAF market also remains concentrated: 25 fuel suppliers provided SAF to 33 EU airports across 12 Member States. However, airports in five Member States (France, Germany, The Netherlands, Spain, and Sweden) accounted for 99% of supply.
The Commission is currently preparing a Sustainable Transport Investment Plan (STIP), designed to boost investments in renewable and low-carbon transport fuels, including SAF.
For the next annual report, the data from 2025 will be used to assess whether ReFuelEU’s first blending mandate, the obligation to supply at least 2% of total aviation fuel as SAF in EU airports, has been met.
More information on key findings can be found in EASA’s press release.
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Energy in Demand - Sustainable Energy - Rod Janssen 