European airlines are preparing to contest European Union (EU) regulations that, starting in 2030, will require them to utilize synthetic “green” jet fuel (eSAF), cautioning that existing mandates are excessively stringent, too expensive, and premature compared to the market’s actual capabilities.
They intend to contend at a conference organized by Airlines for Europe (A4E) for either a postponement or total repeal of the eSAF standards, pointing to projections that merely 0.7 percent of the required fuel in 2030 is expected to be available and that travelers may eventually encounter penalties of 7–9 billion euros passed on by suppliers.
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The EU’s existing strategy aims for two percent of regional airport fuel to consist of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) by 2025, increasing to six percent by 2030, while synthetic SAF will begin at 1.2 percent in 2030 and grow to 5 percent by 2035. Nevertheless, airlines assert that most SAF currently is bio-based, three to five times more expensive than traditional jet fuel, and represents only 0.3 percent of the global supply.
Environmental proponents argue that delaying eSAF would jeopardize startups and diminish Europe’s initial competitive edge. Concurrently, industry associations emphasize that the technology is still in its early stages and that, without a revision, the regulations could become impractical and expensive.
The airline industry, already affected by flight delays and increased fuel prices due to the Iran war, claims that Europe’s green jet fuel regulations are overly stringent, citing a lack of market supply and prices that are too elevated to manage.
Aviation ranks as one of the most challenging industries to decarbonize, with zero-emission airplanes unlikely to be available this decade, thus making green fuels, which have fewer emissions than traditional jet fuel, one of the limited immediate solutions to reduce emissions in air travel.
Airlines report a limited supply of synthetic jet fuel and indicate that anticipated production plants will probably not be operational in time to fulfill the mandate.
The majority of SAF available is produced from spent cooking oil or animal byproducts, is priced three to five times higher than conventional jet fuel, and constitutes only 0.3 percent of the worldwide jet fuel supply.
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Sustainable synthetic jet fuel is produced from renewable energy sources like captured carbon dioxide or green hydrogen. It releases lower carbon emissions than bio-based SAF, yet its production costs are significantly higher.