Platts to update European SAF assessments, March 2, 2026

Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, will exclude Category 3 Tallow from being considered an eligible feedstock for the Platts European SAF assessments.

Platts will also update the minimum Greenhouse Gas (GHG) savings level to 80% for CIF Northwest Europe cargoes, and will set guidelines on the Proof of Sustainability (PoS) transfer timeline, effective March 2, 2026.

Category 3 Tallow exclusion

The change follows research indicating that Category 3 Tallow is not eligible for compliance within the scope of the Renewable Energy Directive (RED) in Germany and, subsequently, the ReFuel EU Aviation regulation. Market feedback supported that SAF derived from Category 3 animal fats has limited fungibility due to sustainability and eligibility concerns.

Current Platts SAF methodology reflects non-crop RED-compliant feedstocks, with the exception of Palm Fatty Acid Distillates.

The change will impact Platts SAF CIF NWE (AJNWD00) and SAF FOB FARAG HEFA-SPK (SUAFA00) assessments.

GHG Savings

Platts will lower the minimum GHG savings threshold for the SAF CIF NWE cargo assessment (AJNWD00) from 85% to 80%, as calculated under the European Commission's RED II framework. This change aligns the SAF FOB FARAG barge assessment (SUAFA00 ) and reflects SAF trade flows arriving in Europe.

PoS transfer timeline

For both the SAF CIF NWE cargo and SAF FOB FARAG barge assessments, Platts will update expectations on the timing of PoS documentation transfer.

From March 2, PoS documents will need to be transferred within 30 calendar days of bill of lading for FOB trades or within 30 calendar days of the completion of discharge for delivered trades, in line with ISCC guidelines. The current methodology stipulates that the transfer should be made by the seller within a reasonable timeframe.

These changes were initially proposed Jan. 6.

These assessments appear in Biofuelscan, Weekly Biomass Based Diesel report, Oilgram, Marketscan and the Platts price database under the codes above.

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