Press Release  

Brussels, 5 November, 2025  

Today in Brussels, the European Commission presented its Sustainable Transport Investment Plan (STIP) strategy to accelerate the energy transition of aviation and maritime transport sectors.  

Hydrogen Europe welcomes the STIP for its specific focus on unlocking funds to help projects reach a final investment decision (FID), recognising the importance of decarbonising the maritime and aviation sectors with all available technological solutions. 

Laurent Donceel, Director of Transport at Hydrogen Europe commented: “Today’s communication rightly identifies that a comprehensive funding approach is necessary to help projects reach FID and sign durable offtake agreements. Yet, the price difference between renewable and low-carbon fuels and their fossil competitors remains too high and more efforts are needed to narrow the gap.” 

Under the plan, the EU is expected to mobilise at least €2.9 billion until the end of 2027:

• InvestEU will mobilise at least €2 billion for sustainable alternative fuels until 2027, which will help bridge financial gaps,
• The Commission will allocate €300 million by end of this year to support the production of hydrogen for sustainable aviation (SAF) and maritime (SMF) fuels through the European Hydrogen Bank.
• The Commission, through Horizon Europe, will support more R&I projects with a budget of €133 million.
• The Commission will mobilise €153 million for synthetic aviation fuel projects and €293 million for maritime fuel projects under the Innovation Fund.
• An eSAF Early Movers Coalition pilot project of committed Member States will be launched by end of 2025 with a stated target budget of at least €500 million for synthetic aviation fuel projects. 

The new instruments put in place by STIP also include an intermediary mechanism connecting fuel producers and buyers to provide revenue certainty and de-risk investments, which along with the funding listed above will not only help decarbonise the aviation and maritime sectors but also reduce imports of fossil fuels, improve self-sufficiency and energy security for civil and military use, and also launch an innovative and competitive new industry that will help European jobs and growth numbers. 

Boosting the production and uptake of renewable and low-carbon fuels is essential for the resilience and decarbonisation of Europe. Today’s proposals can provide real political momentum for these fuels. 

The association and its members now call on the European Commission to promptly implement STIP, notably through the upcoming review of the ETS Directive in 2026, and call upon national governments to seize this opportunity to develop a resilient energy system that can enable the decarbonisation of aviation and waterborne transport. Hydrogen Europe looks forwards to seeing this topic addressed at the meeting of transport ministers on 4 December. 

For more information:

Hydrogen Europe STIP position paper July 2025