EU to stick to SAF mandates, resists industry calls for change

The European Commission is doubling down on its current sustainable aviation fuel trajectory under ReFuelEU Aviation, signaling it will evaluate -- rather than rewrite -- the rules in 2027 despite mounting airline and energy-industry pressure over cost and implementation friction.

The commission will not alter its ReFuelEU Aviation framework during next year's scheduled evaluation, which will produce a report rather than propose revisions, Jo Dardenne, policy officer at the directorate-general for mobility and transport, said at Sustainable Aviation Fuels Summit in Brussels April 14.

"We're fully committed to the mandates, both for bio-SAF and eSAF, because this is what we're hearing also from the industry; that it's important to get clarity, certainty and a long-term visibility for the market," Dardenne said.

The commission's position aims to provide regulatory stability as airlines and fuel suppliers navigate the transition to lower-carbon aviation fuels amid concerns about supply availability and cost.

The EU is processing its first full year of compliance data under the mandate, which requires airlines to use minimum SAF volumes at EU airports, Dardenne said.

It comes amid calls for change. The bloc will likely have to scale back its ambitious SAF targets, mirroring its recent retreat from a ban on internal combustion engines, as airlines push back on high costs, TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanné said in January.

SAF is three times more expensive than fossil fuel, Pouyanné said.

Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, assessed SAF, produced via the HEFA pathway, on a CIF basis in Northwest Europe at $2,731/metric ton April 13, compared to $1,587.25/mt for jet fuel on an equivalent basis. The gap has narrowed due to jet fuel shortages in Europe resulting from the war in the Middle East. In 2025, the SAF price averaged $2,180/mt and jet averaged $721/mt.

Policy clarity sought

The EU's ReFuelEU Aviation regulation, which took effect in 2024, mandates progressive increases in SAF blending at EU airports, reaching 6% by 2030 and 70% by 2050. A sub-mandate requires e-SAF to comprise 1.2% of the fuel mix by 2030, rising to 35% by 2050. The framework includes penalties for non-compliance and follow-up obligations that Dardenne described as "essential pillars" of the policy.

Industry participants have raised questions about potential discrepancies between ReFuelEU Aviation and the EU Emissions Trading System, which covers airline emissions more broadly. The ReFuelEU mandate applies specifically to fuel supplied at union airports, while the ETS targets airline operators' overall emissions, Dardenne said.

Under the ReFuel EU program, there is a flexibility mechanism that allows fuel suppliers to average SAF blending obligations across EU airports until 2035 to support the gradual scale-up of SAF production, as announced Feb. 28.

However, the bloc's separate Emissions Trading System works on the basis of emissions reduction, not volumes of SAF, and for airlines to be able to claim an emission reduction, they need to have physically uplifted that SAF at a particular airport or to a particular aircraft, an official at Austrian refiner OMV told Platts.

"There are two different objectives between the ETS and ReFuel," Dardenne said, noting that potential alignment between the frameworks could be addressed during the ETS revision process. The commission is currently verifying and reporting the first year of compliance data under ReFuelEU Aviation.

The policy stance comes as European airlines face pressure from higher SAF costs compared with conventional jet fuel, while fuel suppliers work to scale up production capacity to meet the mandate's escalating requirements.