Positioning Spain as SAF hub: Moeve’s €8bn transition strategy

opinion

by Fayaz Hussain

June 10, 2026

Spain is positioning itself as a key hub for the production of advanced renewable fuels

Europe’s energy transition is increasingly shaped by the need to scale up a competitive domestic industry of green molecules. As sectors such as aviation seek viable pathways to decarbonisation, second generation biofuels, sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and green hydrogen are emerging not only as climate solutions, but also as strategic assets to strengthen Europe’s energy autonomy and reduce dependence on imported fossil fuels.

In this context, Spain is positioning itself as a key hub for the production of advanced renewable fuels, supported by its infrastructure, access to feedstocks and renewable energy potential.

Spanish energy company Moeve has aligned its long-term strategy with this industrial and energy shift, placing green molecules at the core of its transformation. Through its Positive Motion transformation strategy, the company is reshaping its business model around the large-scale production of second generation biofuels, SAF and renewable hydrogen, with the ambition of becoming a leading European supplier of these decarbonisation technologies.

Álvaro Macarro, Director of Aviation Ecosystems, Moeve.

“We have divested 70% of our upstream oil assets as well as our butane/propane businesses, and have set a target that by 2030, 50% of our operating profit will come from sustainable activities,” Álvaro Macarro, director of Aviation Ecosystems. These commitments are backed with substantial investment.

“[Moeve is] investing around €8bn, 60% of which will go to sustainable projects, including SAF production and renewable hydrogen. Beyond decarbonisation, this shift reflects a broader strategic rationale. For Moeve, building a competitive portfolio of green molecules is also about contributing to Europe’s long-term energy security by reducing dependence on imported fossil fuels and developing domestic industrial capabilities around sustainable fuels.”

Within this strategy, SAF is positioned as a key lever to achieve decarbonisation goals. This is reflected in its priorities where the company is focusing on both short-term production of SAF through established pathways while simultaneously investing in development of next-generation to ensure it benefits from a first-mover advantage and maintains long-term competitiveness in the e-fuels space.

“Our focus is on scaling SAF production through our new 2G biofuels plant in Huelva, which will be part of the largest second generation complex in Southern Europe,” Macarro highlights.

At present, the company relies on established HEFA pathway to produce SAF using waste-based feedstocks. “We currently produce SAF from used cooking oils and other organic waste” Macarro adds. “This SAF can reduce lifecycle CO₂ emissions compared to fossil jet fuel.”

And these aren’t just pilot-scale operations. The company has already moved deeply into commercial operations establishing supply relationships across Spain’s major airports. “Since 2022, we have been supplying SAF to airlines that voluntarily opted to use it and today we supply SAF at all of Spain’s major airports,” Macarro elaborates.

Moeve, which rebranded from Cepsa in 2024, benefited immensely from its early introduction of SAF to the market – particularly logistics and distribution. “Since 2022, we have been supplying SAF to airlines that voluntarily opted to use it. By being proactive across the entire aviation ecosystem early on, we were able to successfully validate that the supply chain and infrastructure are fully operational with SAF and be fully prepared for the implementation of RefuelEU Aviation from 2025,” adds Macarro. “Furthermore, we have ensured that emissions reduction reports are rigorously verified and validated by the relevant authorities, providing full compliance and transparency for our partners.”

While the quantities required to meet the EU’s SAF mandate are only going to scale from here in the coming years, Moeve is also already investing in expanding its production strategy to meet the demand.

Moeve expects to reach an annual production capacity of 2.5m tonnes of second generation biofuels.

“By 2030, Moeve expects to reach an annual production capacity of 2.5m tonnes of second generation biofuels, of which 800,000 tonnes will be SAF,” Macarro projects. Once achieved, this capacity would position Moeve as one of Europe’s largest SAF producers. At the centre of this expansion is the company’s Huelva facility, which will help Moeve ramp up production as the EU’s SAF mandate increases over this decade.

“We are building southern Europe’s largest 2G biofuels complex, investing in hydrogen production, and leveraging Spain’s strategic advantages in feedstock availability and infrastructure to position Moeve as a leading European SAF hub,” Macarro states.

This is underpinned by demand certainty as a result of mandates. Moeve sees tailwinds from the implementation of ReFuelEU Aviation regulations as essential to stimulate SAF. “ReF

uelEU Aviation sets a clear framework to decarbonise the industry and creates demand certainty, which is positive,” Macarro acknowledges.

Moeve notes that advancing e‑fuels requires complementing existing technologies with new solutions that enable cleaner fuels to be scaled up, a vision that is reflected in the agreement reached with Zaffra to assess the development of e‑SAF facilities in southern Spain, in line with the objectives set out in the European ReFuelEU Aviation regulation.

“Moeve’s partnership with Zaffra is all about proving that large-scale eSAF can be built where world-class renewables and aviation demand meet, in our case, around the Andalusian Green Hydrogen Valley in southern Spain,” Macarro explains.

Moeve’s transformation from traditional fossil fuel energy company to sustainable fuels producer is ambitious to say the least. But the substantial capital commitments, strategic asset sales and technology investments show a serious intent to gain significant market share in Europe’s SAF industry.

The scale at which Moeve has committed to transform and deliver sustainable fuels means the company’s achievements will serve as a case study for many other firms looking to invest in Europe’s SAF market.