SAF Emerges as EU Energy-Security Priority Amid Global Shifts
Geopolitical instability is transforming sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) into a key strategic asset for EU energy security. However, fragmented traceability and pipeline regulations across Europe could hinder the scaling of SAF supply chains. Nikki Schutte, senior vice president for business development in the Netherlands, emphasizes the need for harmonized EU rules to reduce logistics costs and attract investment. Demand for SAF is expected to grow from 62,000 barrels per day in 2026 to 80,000 barrels per day in 2027, with ReFuelEU targets rising from 2% of EU aviation fuel in 2025 to 70% by 2050.
Ports like Rotterdam may become major blending and certification centers, while airports and airlines increasingly compete for verified environmental attributes rather than physical SAF. This shift could lower system costs but also heightens reliance on credible registries and anti-double-counting controls. Strategically, SAF policy is evolving into industrial policy, with jurisdictions offering stable mandates, flexible logistics, and reliable certification likely to attract producers and capital.
China is leveraging its role as a major copper buyer to demand guaranteed copper-concentrate supplies as a condition for approving Anglo American’s $54 billion merger with Teck Resources. The Chinese antitrust regulator is negotiating remedies after smelters raised concerns amid a severe feedstock shortage. Despite the combined group holding only about 5% of global copper supply, China’s buyer power gives it effective veto power.
The US Supreme Court will decide whether federal law blocks Boulder, Colorado’s climate-liability lawsuit against ExxonMobil and Suncor Energy. The case could determine the future of nearly 60 similar lawsuits seeking billions from fossil-fuel producers. A ruling for the companies could eliminate many cases, while a ruling for Boulder would expand climate-liability risks.
Algebris Investments has acquired Spanish renewable energy advisory firm Vector Renewables, marking the Green Transition Fund’s first international acquisition. The deal strengthens Algebris’s energy-transition portfolio and allows Vector to expand globally, developing technologies such as battery-energy-storage systems and hybrid projects.