The Renewable and Low-Carbon Fuels Value Chain Industrial Alliance is a new initiative that focuses on boosting production and supply of renewable and low-carbon fuels in the aviation and waterborne sectors. It is a key flanking measure to the FuelEU Maritime and RefuelEU Aviation initiatives.
The Alliance is a voluntary collaboration of stakeholders from across the transport fuels and other relevant value chains, from sourcing to end-users, as well as technology and finance providers for each step in the value chain. They represent both the fuels supply and demand sides from the aviation and waterborne sectors, as well as civil society organisation, governments and their agencies.
The Renewable and Low-Carbon Fuels Value Chain Industrial Alliance kicked off on 6 April 2022 with an open call for membership applications.
Who can join and how?
The Alliance is open to all companies and organisations, EU bodies and agencies, Member States, local and regional authorities and their agencies, recognised social partner organisations, as well as other stakeholder groups, civil society organisations and members of Horizon Europe Partnerships. The Alliance will remain open to new members at all stages of its operation. Detailed membership criteria are set out in the declaration of the alliance. To join the Alliance, an organisation must sign the declaration, which commits it to sharing the Alliance's vision, and contributing to its operational work.
What is the Alliance doing?
The ultimate objective of the Alliance is to ensure that aviation and waterborne transport have sufficient access to renewable and low carbon fuels, while taking into account the future use of these fuels in road transport, and thus contributing to a reduction in the transport sector’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 90% by 2050. For this to happen, effective exchange and coordination of actors across the value chain is needed to ensure that opportunities and barriers to market action are clearly identified, and a pipeline of suitable projects can be generated.
Objectives and priorities have been developed in the first months of operation in a common work programme, which has been adopted by the first General Assembly before in July 2022. The focus is helping development of a pipeline of projects in the value chains along key fuel technologies and modes (aviation and waterborne), and overcoming key common challenges and horizontal issues, e.g. access to feedstock, priority pathways, access to finance.
How is the Alliance set up?
Following the adoption of a work plan (see for download below) in the inaugural general assembly which took place on 12 July 2022, Alliance members, (following an internal call for expression of interest) started to work together in four thematic roundtables on relevant aspects of full value chain coordination.
All members of the alliance have the right to participate in the General Assembly, which is composed of two chambers – one each for the waterborne and aviation modes. In the first year, SAFRAN will chair the aviation chamber, while Fincantieri will chair the waterborne chamber. The first General Assembly discussed and endorsed the alliance work plan, with operational objectives and milestones proposed by the Steering Group of the Alliance. Members will then implement the work plan through specific roundtables. Their work will be supported by an Alliance Secretariat, which for the first year is run by FuelsEurope, together with Hydrogen Europe.
The Alliance’s Steering Group is composed of chamber chairs, the partner organisation for the Secretariat of the Alliance, and the Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport of the European Commission.