Europe’s eSAF producers ‘encouraged’ by STIP

The European Commission’s announcement of the Sustainable Transport Investment Plan (STIP) has received a warm welcome from European synthetic sustainable aviation fuel (eSAF) producers.

In a statement to SAF Investor, Project SkyPower, which represents 20 CEOs and over 80 members from the full e-SAF value chain, said that “we welcome the European Commission’s STIP and its recognition of the strategic importance of e-SAF in strengthening Europe’s industrial competitiveness and energy security.”

SkyPower said that the inclusion of concrete measures to advance first-of-a-kind projects to Final Investment Decision marks a decisive step forward.

eSAF is one of the key levers in decarbonising aviation due to its reliance on widely available feedstocks. The European Commission’s STIP will fund the projects which have struggled to get to FID as investors remain averse due to the low technological readiness level.

“Over the past two years, we have worked collaboratively to unlock this opportunity—analysing key challenges and presenting solutions to the European Commission to bridge the gap between producers and offtakers, align incentives, and achieve commercial scale,” said Project SkyPower.

“We therefore warmly welcome the STIP’s recognition that public support in the near and medium term is essential to de-risk investment in e-SAF. As the 2030 ReFuelEU sub-mandate approaches, measures that address key market failures and competitive risks across the value chain are vital to enable producers, offtakers, and financiers to act.”

Project SkyPower said that the concrete measures introduced in the STIP are particularly encouraging. This includes the double-sided auction which Project SkyPower has called upon for a long time now.

A pilot double-sided auction will be held in coordination with EU’s member states before scaling it to all players. The commission’s technical and political support will be crucial to delivering a successful nationally-funded pilot auction by mid-2026.

“The continuity provided by the extension of SAF allowances and other existing support mechanisms—alongside the Commission’s willingness to explore additional regulatory measures that enable scaling of SAF with minimal market distortion—is equally positive,” it said.