The European Commission approved two Dutch schemes with a combined budget of 290 million euros to support the production of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF), the executive said on July 31. The measures are designed to help the aviation sector cut emissions and advance the bloc’s Clean Industrial Deal.
The Netherlands notified the Commission of its intention to run two schemes supporting SAF projects at different stages of development. One provides investment aid for SAF production, while the other covers the costs of preparatory works, including front-end engineering design studies.
The approved schemes are expected to support projects producing around 285 kilotonnes of SAF per year, the equivalent of 350 million litres of kerosene or roughly 3,500 intercontinental flights. Aid will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis through procedures the Commission described as objective, non-discriminatory and transparent.
The support targets two technology pathways: advanced bio-SAF not produced through the Hydroprocessed Esters and Fatty Acids process, and synthetic aviation fuels (e-SAF). Beneficiaries of the production scheme will have to prove compliance with EU criteria for renewable fuels of non-biological origin (RFNBOs) or with the EU sustainability criteria for advanced biofuels.
Aid will take the form of direct grants payable upon the completion of project milestones. The schemes will run from 2027 until 2031 at the latest, with up to five funding rounds depending on the money available.
The Commission assessed the measures under Article 107(3)(c) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, its 2022 Guidelines on State aid for climate, environmental protection and energy, and the 2025 Clean Industrial Deal State Aid Framework. It found that the schemes are necessary and appropriate, have an incentive effect, include sufficient safeguards against distortions of competition and trade, and apply proportionate aid intensities.
The approvals feed into the ReFuelEU Aviation Regulation, which obliges fuel suppliers at EU airports to blend rising shares of SAF into jet fuel, and into the amended Renewable Energy Directive, which raised the EU target for renewable energy to a minimum of 42.5 percent of gross consumption by 2030, aiming for 45 percent.
SAF remains significantly more expensive than conventional kerosene, and state aid is seen as one tool to bridge the gap while production scales up. The Dutch schemes are among a series of national measures the Commission has cleared under the Clean Industrial Deal as the EU tries to keep industrial decarbonisation on track without fragmenting the single market.
Sources: European Commission via Mirage News, ReFuelEU Aviation (European Commission), Clean Industrial Deal (European Commission)
Author: Europe Desk
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