SAF incentive

General

• Total available budget: €1.345.000;
• The incentive is made available to all airlines operating at Brussels-National Airport, hereafter ’Brussels Airport’ or ‘BRU’ (pax, cargo and genav);
• The incentive amounts to a maximum of €200.000 per airline. Due to the de minimis regulation, which is applicable on the SAF Incentive Program, an airline is allowed to receive a maximum incentive of €200.000 per 3 years.

Conditions (cumulative)

• Only the purchase of "qualitative" sustainable aviation fuel (hereinafter SAF or blended SAF) is eligible. Qualitative SAF is a mixture of fossil fuel and an SBC (neat SAF) coming from sustainable sources and certified in accordance with the Renewable Energy Directive (REDII Annex IX, Part A or B) = only residues or biomass that do not compete with food production.
• Only a blended SAF with a minimum blend percentage of 25% is eligible.
• The purchased SAF must be linked to a flight from BRU (proof of effectively refuelled at BRU; linked to BRU via mass-balance through the CEPS pipeline; or linked to BRU via book&claim system within the EU) during the period from 1 Januari 2025 to 31 December 2025.
• Only applicable to flights departing from BRU.

Allocation method

• The allocation of the SAF-incentive is coordinated by Brussels Airport Company (hereafter ‘BAC’) through the principles and conditions as approved by the government.
• A grant amount of up to €325.000 is available per quarter (= total grant spread over 4 quarters):
  • Quarter 1: €325.000
  • Quarter 2: €325.000
  • Quarter 3: €325.000
  • Quarter 4: €325.000
• The incentive will be up to 80% of the additional (premium) cost of blended SAF (to be demonstrated by the airline based on purchase invoices of both neat SAF and fossil fuel (Jet-A1)), with a maximum of €1.000 per metric ton of blended SAF refuelled (biofuel or e-fuel (synthetic paraffin)).
• In month M-1, before the start of each quarter, airlines shall notify BAC of their interest to avail of the SAF incentive for the purchase and uptake of blended SAF at BRU. This means for Q1 and Q2 before 30/03/2025; for Q3 before 30/06/2025 and for Q4 before 30/09/2025.
• With this first notification, the airlines must provide a first realistic estimate of the expected amount of neat SAF (metric ton) and fossil fuel (Jet-A1) (metric ton) that will be blended and refuelled at Brussels Airport during that quarter, as well as an estimate of the cost of the neat SAF (€/metric ton) and the cost of fossil fuel (Jet-A1) (€/metric ton) during that same quarter. Also the percentage of the blended SAF should be provided. The airline can make use of the provided request form to request for the incentive.
• Based on this input, BAC will assess the total blended SAF uptake (and associated incremental cost) as committed by the airlines and will determine the preliminary incentive. - If this forecast does not exceed the quarterly budget (less than €325.000), BAC reserves the budget per airline.
• In case this forecast exceeds the available budget, BAC reserves the budget pro rata per airline.
• At the end of each quarter, and no later than M+1, airlines must submit all relevant evidence to BAC in order to receive the incentive related to that specific quarter. This means for Q1 before 30/04/2025; for Q2 before 31/07/2025; for Q3 before 31/10/2025 and for Q4 before 31/01/2026:
  • Invoices that indicate the exact amount (metric ton) and cost (€/metric ton) of neat SAF and fossil fuel (Jet-A1). Also the %blend of the blended SAF should be indicated.
  • Sustainability certificate of the feedstock of the SAF (Proof of Sustainability): REDII compliant (annex 9a & 9b);
  • A declaration on honour that no cumulation occurs;
  • Proof that the blended SAF can be linked to Brussels Airport;
  • Any other information deemed relevant to substantiate that the conditions of this SAF incentive have been met;
• Based on the documents provided, BAC will calculate the final incentive:
  • per metric ton of SAF refuelled, the subsidy will be up to 80% of the incremental additional cost (to be demonstrated by the airline based on purchase invoices),
  • subject to a cap of €1.000 per metric ton of blended SAF (biofuel or e-fuel (synthetic paraffin) refuelled).
• The actual disbursement of the SAF-incentive will be based on the pro-rata uptake of the SAF with a cap of the 'reserved' amount. If an airline has not consumed the predicted volume, its subsidy will be reduced from the theoretical allocation;
• The airline is responsible for providing all necessary information to BAC in the correct format in order to determine the preliminary and final incentive. The airline is responsible for the accuracy of the provided information.
• Generally, a maximum subsidy of €200.000 per airline applies due to the deminimis regulation.
• After payment of the SAF incentive to the relevant airlines, a report will be prepared by BAC listing which airlines have utilised the SAF-incentive, the volumes of SAF purchased by them, and the SAF incentive amount paid to them.

All communications related to this incentive should be made via the following e-mail address: SAFincentive@brusselsairport.be.