The European Green Deal establishes EU objectives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030 and achieve climate neutrality by 2050. As part of the Fit for 55 package, the RED III Directive was approved, raising the binding renewable energy target to 42.5% of gross final energy consumption in the EU by 2030. The transposition of this directive should have been completed by 21 May 2025, but only partial transposition was published through Decree-Law No. 99/2024.
In September 2025, the Government made available a draft Decree-Law for transposition that provides that, by 2030, the share of energy from renewable sources in gross final energy consumption must be equal to or greater than 49%. In the transport sector, the proposal provides for the incorporation of 29% of renewable energy by 2030, with a minimum combined quota of 7.5% of advanced biofuels. In parallel, the ReFuelEU Aviation Regulation sets minimum percentages of sustainable aviation fuels, with a target of 6% by 2030 and 70% by 2050.
Renewable fuels face complex challenges in their production. Any fuel that replaces fossil fuels requires carbon and hydrogen. In biofuels, the carbon comes from organic matter where it is combined with hydrogen and oxygen, which must be removed during the conversion process. In synthetic fuels, it is necessary to produce hydrogen through electrolysis and combine it with a carbon source such as CO2, also requiring the removal of oxygen to form fuel molecules.
The availability of sustainable raw materials and production scale represent additional challenges. European regulations favor raw materials that do not directly compete with food production and establish specific criteria for the origin of CO2 and the production of renewable hydrogen. It will be necessary to develop supply chains, create sufficient industrial capacity, and prove that technologies can transition from laboratory scale to competitive industrial facilities.
