Results of the eSAF market consultation 

The Federal Ministry for Innovation, Mobility and Infrastructure is planning to introduce a joint eSAF funding scheme with Germany and Luxembourg in the form of a double-sided auction. It is the first project under the European ‘eSAF Early Movers Coalition’.

The aim of the funding is to accelerate the market ramp-up of low-emission, electricity-based aviation fuels (eSAF) in the EU, remove barriers to investment and ensure the availability of eSAF in Austria.

As part of the state aid approval procedure, the Ministry conducted a public consultation from 10th August to 18th September on the competition law implications and the proportionality of the planned measure. A total of 16 stakeholder groups took part in the consultation, including project developers, energy companies, airlines, fuel suppliers and national and international industry associations.

Positive feedback received

Overall, stakeholders supported the proposed eSAF funding scheme and agree that public support is necessary to address current financing gaps, accelerate investment and support the scale-up of eSAF production.

Key cross-cutting themes include the need for technology neutrality, project bankability, long-term investment certainty, broad market participation and effective competition throughout the value chain. Stakeholders also highlighted the importance of ensuring that public support contributes to affordability and is reflected in fuel costs faced by airlines.

BMIMI thanks all respondents for their valuable feedback.

Detailed summary of the feedback (PDF, 98 KB)

full text of the questionnaire (PDF, 176 KB)