Synthetic Fuels

Synthetic fuels (or renewable fuels of non-biological origin), which are produced from renewable hydrogen and CO2 emissions captured, have been identified in both European (ReFuel EU Aviation Regulation Proposal) and national (Climate Change and Energy Transition Law) regulations as one of the most promising ways to reduce CO2 in aviation.

To promote the development and deployment of these synthetic fuels in Spain, the following projects have been preliminarily selected to be developed within the “Synthetic Fuels Working Group” of the Alliance for the Use of Hydrogen in Aviation:


  • Support for technological development

    (technologies with low TRL):
  • In the short term, it will be necessary to adopt support channels for the first plants and to be able to carry out technological “derisking” in order to gain experience.
  • Promote the inclusion of a specific chapter on synthetic fuels in the “White Paper on Aviation in Spain”.

  • Monitoring international standardization

    :
  • ASTM Routes (, JIG (Joint Inspection Group), Energy Institute (EI), …
  • Seek coordination between suppliers and engine manufacturers.

  • Challenges in production and in the logistics chain up to the aircraft.

    :
  • Traceability of synthetic fuels and other sustainable aviation fuels (known as SAFs), taking into account the particularities of the logistics system in Spain, based primarily on transport and storage under an indifferentiated regime.
  • Co-production of synthetic fuels and the rest of the PBS in the same units.

  • Regulatory framework for synthetic fuels

    :
  • Monitoring and assessment, from a strictly technical point of view, of the Spanish and European regulatory initiatives that could affect the field of renewable hydrogen in aviation, both for direct use and as a raw material for the production of synthetic fuels. Spanish and European regulatory initiatives that could affect the field of renewable hydrogen in aviation, both for direct use and as a raw material for the production of synthetic fuels.
  • Public-private dialogue so that the transposition of the mandates on synthetic fuels is realistic and implementable for the industry in Spain.