EU-Wide Advantages and Opportunities of the Grant

Call: HORIZON-CL5-2026-02-D3-01 — Large-scale production of liquid advanced biofuels and RFNBOs

1. Single Market Access

• Unlocks a customs-free market of 450+ million consumers and the world’s largest aviation and maritime fuel demand pool (EU bunkering ≈ 250 Mt/yr).

• Harmonised sustainability and fuel-quality rules (RED III, ReFuelEU Aviation, FuelEU Maritime) mean once a fuel is certified in one Member State, it can be marketed EU-wide, reducing duplication of testing and certification costs by up to 30 %.

• Enables long-term offtake contracts with pan-European carriers (e.g., Lufthansa Group, Maersk, Air France-KLM) who need to comply with EU blending mandates, guaranteeing predictable demand.

2. Cross-Border Collaboration & Knowledge Exchange

• Multinational consortia can integrate geographically distributed assets:

• Feedstock hubs (forestry residues in Nordics, agricultural wastes in Central/Eastern Europe, biogenic CO₂ from Benelux refineries).

• Technology excellence nodes (thermochemical in Germany, Power-to-Liquid in Denmark, biochemical in France).

• Access to EU research infrastructures: Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant (BE), Fraunhofer CBP (DE), RISE LignoDemo (SE), enabling TRL-8/9 demonstrations without duplicating facilities.

• Facilitates staff mobility and joint doctorates under MSCA, fostering a skilled EU-wide workforce.

3. Alignment with EU Policies & Strategic Priorities

• Green Deal & Fit-for-55: contributes directly to 42 % GHG reduction target in transport by 2030.

• REPowerEU: displaces 5–10 billion m³ of imported fossil fuel energy through domestic advanced fuels.

• SET-Plan Action 8: delivers first-of-a-kind (FOAK) commercial plants underpinning the 2030 ambition of 30 Mt/yr sustainable fuels.

• Supports Just Transition by creating industrial jobs in coal-dependent regions shifting toward bio-based economies.

4. Regulatory Harmonisation & Standard Setting

• Utilises unified sustainability criteria (Delegated Act 2023/1606) and voluntary certification schemes recognised across the EU (ISCC-EU, RSB).

• Early movers can influence CEN standardisation (e.g., EN 15940, EN 228) and shape forthcoming e-fuel specifications, creating first-mover advantage.

• Streamlined cross-border permitting via proposed Net-Zero Industry Act and RED III fast-track procedures reduce average lead time for FOAK plants from 4–5 years to ~2 years.

5. Leveraging the EU Innovation Ecosystem

• Synergy with joint undertakings: Clean Hydrogen JU (for green H₂ supply), Circular Bio-based Europe JU (feedstock pre-treatment innovations), SESAR 3 & Clean Aviation (fuel qualification).

• Engagement with European Technology Platforms (ETIP Bioenergy, Hydrogen Europe, EERA) ensures continuous feedback between R&D and industrial deployment.

• Access to Europe’s IP regime (unitary patent, SME IP assistance) simplifies cross-border licensing.

6. Funding Synergies & Blending Opportunities

• Blending the 70 % HEU grant with:

• Innovation Fund (up to 60 % CAPEX/OPEX for GHG-saving projects).

• InvestEU & EIB Green Shipping Guarantee for debt finance.

• CEF Transport Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Facility for downstream bunkering.

• Cohesion & REPowerEU chapters of national RRF plans for regional co-funding (especially in cohesion countries).

• De-risks private equity entry by demonstrating bankability, improving IRR by 3-5 percentage points.

7. EU-Wide Scale, Replicability & Impact

• Topic explicitly calls for reference cases; successful projects can be replicated in 10–15 Member States with similar feedstock streams, enabling rapid scale-out to >5 Mt/yr by 2035.

• Harmonised LCA methodology (Innovation Fund) provides comparable data, accelerating acceptance by investors and regulators across the Union.

• Supports creation of integrated EU value chains (feedstock → processing → fuel → end-user), capturing higher value within Europe and reducing strategic dependencies.

8. Additional Strategic Considerations

• Security of supply: diversifies energy mix and utilises indigenous resources, aligning with the EU Critical Raw Materials Act by reducing reliance on external fossil inputs.

• Digital Europe alignment: advanced process control, blockchain fuel traceability and AI-driven feedstock logistics can be embedded, opening access to Digital Europe grants.

• Social licence: multinational stakeholder engagement improves public acceptance; EU-backed sustainability credentials mitigate NIMBY risks.

• Climate diplomacy: positioning EU industrial champions as global technology exporters, reinforcing EU leadership ahead of ICAO CORSIA and IMO GHG measures.

9. Actionable Opportunities for Applicants

1. Form a pan-European consortium combining at least 3 Member States to maximise evaluation score on excellence & impact.

2. Integrate feedstock contracts from different regions to prove robustness of supply and mitigate price volatility.

3. Pre-align permitting with national one-stop-shops created under RED III Art. 16 to shorten time-to-build.

4. Structure financing with a layered approach: HEU grant → Innovation Fund grant → EIB debt → corporate equity → long-term offtake.

5. Engage early with CEN committees to ensure fuel output meets forthcoming EU standards, guaranteeing marketability.

6. Map job creation against Just Transition regions to unlock additional regional funds.

7. Publish an LCA consistent with ISO 14067 and Innovation Fund rules to validate ≥70 % GHG savings, key for meeting RED III thresholds.

In summary, operating at EU scale multiplies the technical, financial and market advantages of this Horizon innovation action, turning a single demonstration plant into a springboard for an integrated, competitive and sustainable advanced fuels industry across Europe.