Green hydrogen-based sustainable aviation fuel (e-SAF) will be supported by a €290m ($333.4m) Dutch scheme after approval by the European Commission.
The state aid initiative, also covering bio-SAF, will allocate direct grants across up to five award rounds between 2027 and 2031, aiming to support the production of around 285,000 tonnes of SAF per year.
Grants are intended to cover foundational project developments, such as front-end engineering design at facilities planning to produce renewable fuel of non-biological origin (RFNBO) compliant fuels.
They will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis.
It comes as SAF’s momentum grows across Europe, with project developers targeting production to satisfy demand expected to ramp up as the aviation sector pursues decarbonisation in line with ReFuelEU Aviation regulations.
This began last year by dictating 2% of aviation fuel must be SAF, a portion that will climb to 70% by 2050.
The announcement shortly follows the Commission permitting the Netherlands to invest €103m ($117m) in green hydrogen and e-methanol-fuelled ships to decarbonise the country’s maritime fleet.
The Netherlands is positioning itself as a leader in Europe’s SAF sector, using its proven refining sector, established import routes like the Port of Rotterdam, and strong demand centred around Schiphol Airport.
In June, Dutch airline KLM and SAF producer SkyNRG began work on the country’s first production facility, targeting operations in 2028. At the time, KLM called on the government to support the acceleration and scaling of production.
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