Protests against the new EU legislation on electric fuels, particularly regarding the use of renewable hydrogen in the production of biofuels, are sharply increasing. The SASHA coalition, which includes representatives from the maritime and aviation transport industries, has expressed its concerns about the existing uncertainties in Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/1185. These uncertainties could lead to a decrease in demand for the production of synthetic fuels and, consequently, weaken efforts to develop new projects.
Problems Arising from Legal Uncertainties
The aforementioned regulation does not clearly exempt electrolytic hydrogen used in the hydrotreatment of biofuels such as Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) from counting towards the share of synthetic fuels. This could obscure the boundary between using green hydrogen as a processing input for biofuels and using it as a raw material for producing synthetic fuels such as electrical methanol and electrical ammonia.
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Proposals for Regulatory Amendments
Signatories of a letter to the European Commission are calling for the same accounting approach previously adopted for low-carbon fuels to be applied to Regulation (EU) 2023/1185 as well. For example, Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/2359 exempts renewable fuels of non-biological origin that are used as intermediate products in the production of conventional and biofuels from the calculation of the final low-carbon share. The signatories expect this exemption to be considered in the new regulations as well.
Analyses conducted indicate that 69 electric fuel projects are under development in Europe, with only six of them having been commissioned. For this reason, the SASHA coalition and the Green group Transport & Environment (T&E) are concerned that the lack of reforms in the laws will lead to a decrease in the production and supply of synthetic fuels in the future, forcing the EU to import synthetic fuels to meet its requirements.
These uncertainties may also reduce the motivation of transport companies and fuel suppliers to sign long-term supply contracts necessary for financing new electric fuel projects. In fact, this situation could create legal uncertainties and jeopardize confidence in the EU's legal framework.
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