Aviation industry groups have urged the EU to accelerate its push around more diverse fuel alternatives and to support greater sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production outlets, warning that European SAF production is lagging demand and the industry is increasingly dependent on imported fuel supplies.
Airlines for Europe (A4E), the European region of Airports Council International (ACI Europe), Airport Regions Council (ARC), ASD Europe (Aerospace, Security, and Defence), European Regions Airline Association (ERA) and the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) have consolidated to issue the European SAF Industry Policy: Ensuring the Competitiveness of European Aviation, Energy and Connectivity’ report to the EU.
The report says: “The SAF market is accelerating, but current projections fall short of ambitions. The Clean Industrial Deal and the Sustainable Transport Investment Plan have an opportunity to address these challenges, attracting investment to the EU, improving energy security and ensuring climate targets are met.”
Europe being outpaced by the US and China, in terms of SAF production, and a global shortage of feedstocks (used cooking oils, tallow etc).
“If this trend continues, increasing quantities of SAF are likely to be imported to meet the EU’s mandates, undermining its attempts to attain energy independence.
“On top of this, consumers will end up bearing extra costs for more expensive SAF and an increasing share of jobs will be created in other countries, further undermining Europe’s competitiveness,” the report says.
