Sustainable aviation fuel in the European Union only accounted for 0.6% of the total uplift last year, but the initial status report on new fuelling regulations points out that the 2% mandatory threshold requirement did not take effect until this year.

Suppliers provided 32.1 million tonnes of aviation fuel overall to EU airports but only 192,700t was sustainable.

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency gave the figure in a report detailing findings for 2024, the first year of ReFuelEU Aviation implementation.

EASA states that two-thirds of 123 obligated fuel suppliers complied with the requirement to submit reports.

“This somewhat lower compliance rate can largely be attributed to the fact that the primary obligation to supply a minimum share of [sustainable aviation fuel] was not yet applicable,” it says.

EASA also suggests the “first-time nature” of the 2024 period probably kept reporting rates low. But the data nevertheless has been valuable, it adds, serving as a “dry run” and offering insights into the preparedness of stakeholders.

According to the fuel suppliers’ submissions, almost the entirety of sustainable fuel provided to EU airports – about 98% – comprised aviation biofuels, with those obtained from cooking oil feedstock accounting for 81%.

While the quantity of sustainable fuel supplied was low, EASA says it reduced carbon emissions by 91% compared with the conventional fuel it replaced.

Aircraft operators purchased about 358,000t of sustainable fuel last year – about 0.81% of the total uplifted fuel at EU airports.

EASA found a “notable increase” in the number of EU countries hosting sustainable fuel production activity – listing 17 in total, up from 12 the previous year.

It forecasts three scenarios for sustainable fuel production in 2030, estimating available capacity at between 1.4 million and 5.2 million tonnes depending on progress with facilities. The most optimistic scenario would also provide a further 700,000t made up of synthetic aviation fuel.

EASA believes production capacities will be “sufficient” to meet the minimum 6% share of sustainable fuel – excluding synthetics – for 2030, as set out by the regulations.

But it stresses that a “continuous scale-up” of production will be necessary to establish a “well-functioning market” and achieve the 2035 share target which rises to 20%.

Scale-up of synthetic aviation fuel production in the EU is “lagging”, it adds. Synthetic fuel was absent from the fuel mix last year, highlighting the early-stage nature of its development. None of the proposed EU synthetic fuel facilities has reached a final investment decision, says EASA, putting the 2030 target for this particular sector “at risk” unless decisions are reached by 2026.