EASA selects Ricardo-led consortium for Europe's first sustainable aviation fuel clearing house

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EASA selects Ricardo-led consortium for Europe's first sustainable aviation fuel clearing house

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Becca Alkema Operations Manager and Contributing Writer | Runway Girl Network

By Sky Industry News

Jul 11, 2024

Ricardo, a global strategic, environmental, and engineering consultancy, has been selected by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) to lead a consortium in implementing Europe’s first sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) clearing house.

Funded by the EU and managed by EASA, the EU SAF Clearing House is expected to serve as an “impartial one-stop-shop” for fuel producers and original equipment manufacturers to receive support in developing new SAF. This alternative to conventional petroleum-derived hydrocarbons aims to streamline the adoption of SAF across Europe.

“The pan-European-based sustainable transport team at Ricardo was awarded the contract to implement the EU SAF Clearing House, following a call for tender,” EASA stated. Ricardo will collaborate with Trinity College Dublin, Intertek, Politecnico di Torino, ENVISA, and Spark Legal and Policy Consulting to establish a network of European and international testing facilities. In addition to evaluation services, they will guide fuel producers in assessing environmental impacts and meeting strict eligibility criteria.

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The EU SAF Clearing House aims to support scaling up diverse fuel production pathways and feedstocks by providing tools required for efficient ASTM D4054 standard evaluation. This includes pre-screening, partial funding for testing, and report writing.

The UK-based consultancy reports that the EU SAF Clearing House has already received its first sustainable aviation fuel and is currently testing it. Increasing SAF production is crucial for airlines to meet new EU regulatory requirements under the ReFuelEU Aviation Regulation adopted in 2023. The regulation mandates that fuel suppliers incorporate 2% SAF by 2025, 6% by 2030, and 70% by 2050.

“The demand for SAF will grow ever more to meet the goals set in the ReFuelEU Aviation Regulation and increasingly reduce emissions from aviation,” said EASA strategy & safety management director Maria Rueda. “Via the EU SAF Clearing House, EASA wants to ensure that the fuel industry gets the support needed to succeed in developing SAF for aviation.”

Currently representing less than 0.05% of total EU aviation fuel use, scaling volumes of SAF has been a significant challenge due to rigorous testing requirements before commercial use. “The Clearing House will be an important milestone in the journey to a cleaner, more sustainable aviation sector in Europe,” said Dr. Rui Neiva, principal consultant at Ricardo and programme manager for the EU SAF Clearing House.

Dr. Neiva believes that certifying new fuels will unlock opportunities for further diversification of feedstocks within Europe’s market for SAF. He emphasized Ricardo's experience in organizing networks of technical organizations across various sectors like automotive and aerospace would be instrumental in this project.

The project’s website is expected soon.