European ethanol producers raise new legal challenge to RefuelEU aviation regulation

European renewable ethanol producers have launched a new legal challenge, now directed at the EU’s RefuelEU aviation regulation, charging that it improperly excludes crop-based biofuels from the effort to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions from air transport.

It’s the second legal challenge from the EU renewable ethanol industry to be raised in recent months alleging discrimination in EU policymaking against Renewable Energy Directive-compliant crop-based biofuels despite their proven sustainability and benefits for emissions reduction.

The industry recently filed a similar case against the FuelEU maritime regulation.

The new aviation court action comes from companies representing nearly all of the EU’s production of ethanol, who are seeking to annul specific sections of the RefuelEU aviation regulation that exclude crop-based biofuels from the definition of sustainable aviation fuel.

“As with the FuelEU maritime case, this RefuelEU aviation legislation once again jeopardizes the EU’s ambitions for transport decarbonization by discriminating against RED-complaint sustainable biofuels,” said David Carpintero, director general of ePURE, the European renewable ethanol association.

“Renewable ethanol has a proven track record of emissions reduction and sustainability as confirmed in the Renewable Energy Directive,” Carpintero added. “Instead of being excluded, it should be empowered in the union’s interest.”

The legal action is based on several arguments, including among others that the European Parliament and the European Council committed a manifest error of assessment by contradicting available scientific and technical data in preparing their policy and violated the principle of proportionality by effectively enacting bans on the use of RED-compliant crop-based biofuels.

The legal application for annulment of RefuelEU aviation was filed with the General Court of the European Union Jan. 24.

The challenge was filed by members of ePURE, the European renewable ethanol association, along with Pannonia Bio Zrt.