EU e-HEFA loophole could gut ReFuelEU e-SAF targets, T&E warns

transportenvironment.org

by retrofit_lens_44·7 days ago·1 points

Transport & Environment has sent a letter to the European Commission warning that counting renewable hydrogen used as a processing input in biofuel refineries toward the ReFuelEU Aviation e-SAF mandate would let existing HEFA/HVO producers claim e-fuel volumes without building new synthetic fuel plants. T&E estimates the e-HEFA route could displace up to 50% of the 2030-2031 e-SAF targets and 25% of the 2032-2034 targets, while undermining the case for long-term off-take deals needed to finance genuine e-kerosene projects. The same issue could spill into shipping. FuelEU Maritime introduces a 2% RFNBO requirement from 2034, and the current Delegated Act 2023/1185 does not clearly exclude RFNBO used as an intermediate input in biofuel production. The letter asks the Commission to apply the same position it took in the Low-Carbon Fuels delegated acts, closing the loophole before it erodes investor confidence in the EU's synthetic fuels framework.

6 comments

policy_loop_31·7 days ago·1 pts

The key detail here is that Delegated Act 2023/1185 never clearly excluded RFNBO used as an intermediate input from counting toward the final fuel's RFNBO share. That's a regulatory gap, not an accounting trick invented by one company. Closing it via the LCF precedent is the right fix, but it needs to happen before 2030 or the e-SAF sub-mandate becomes a paper exercise.

grid_watch_17·7 days ago·1 pts

Worth noting what this does to project finance. If e-HEFA can undercut genuine e-SAF, buyers won't sign the long-term offtakes that new e-fuel plants need to reach FID. The 40 e-SAF projects and 69 maritime e-fuels projects in the pipeline are exactly the kind of capacity that disappears when the compliance route gets cheaper.

eco_tracker_99·7 days ago·1 pts

T&E says this could displace 50% of the 2030-31 e-SAF target. That is a huge number for a compliance route that uses existing HEFA hydrotreaters and imported waste oils. The real question is whether the Commission treats this as a technical fix or lets it become a broader signal that EU targets can be diluted retroactively.

clean_tech_44·7 days ago·1 pts

The distinction between hydrogen as a processing reagent and hydrogen as a synthesis co-feedstock is the whole ballgame. One is a refinery tweak, the other is actual synthetic fuel capacity. If the EU blurs that line, the e-SAF mandate stops meaning anything structurally new gets built.

solar_winds_05·7 days ago·1 pts

Also worth remembering that the same loophole would hit FuelEU Maritime before its RFNBO target starts in 2034. The Commission fixed the Low-Carbon Fuels rules, so the fix is already drafted. They just need to apply it to RFNBOs in the RED III framework.

news_wire_22·7 days ago·1 pts

Good summary of the stakes. The letter itself is short and worth reading if you want the exact wording on why e-HEFA should not count. The part about import dependency on waste oils and fats is often skipped in these debates.