Sustainable Transport Investment Plan (STIP) : the second key for e-fuels
Synthetic fuels based on renewable or low-carbon hydrogen (e-fuels) will be the main lever for decarbonizing air and sea transport: sustainable biomass stocks are far too limited to cover most of these sectors’ energy needs, even under scenarios of demand control or reduction (through a combination of energy efficiency and sufficiency). The remaining energy demand will therefore have to be met with synthetic fuels, or else remain carbon-based.
Furthermore, it’s a major industrial opportunity for France, as testified by our e-fuels project mapping.
In this context, gradually increasing blending quotas for synthetic fuels are the most effective public policy tool to provide predictability to industry and trigger massive investments in e-fuel production infrastructure.
- This has already been achieved in aviation with the ReFuelEU Aviation regulation, which includes a sub-quota for synthetic kerosene (eSAF). Its scheduled revision in 2027–2028 must in no case undermine the integrity of the quotas, but instead reinforce the regulation by giving it an international dimension. See France Hydrogène’s proposal on this issue.
- For shipping, the mid-October IMO vote will be decisive in setting the sector on a real decarbonization pathway.
Quotas are essential tools, but they must be complemented by de-risking mechanisms for the first e-fuel projects. This is the purpose of the Sustainable Transport Investment Plan (STIP), which the Commission is expected to publish this autumn. France Hydrogène has responded to the related consultation and is simultaneously refining the design of the proposed mechanisms.
