Industry frontrunners call on European Commission to end ETS exemption for international flights
Letter | June 2026
Summary
The SASHA Coalition joins a collective of European e-fuel and electric/hybrid flight start-ups who have written to the European Commission advocating for the EU to commit funding to homegrown fuel and flight innovations.
The letter has been signed by 28 companies, including Aerleum, Elysian Aircraft, IðunnH2, NEG8 Carbon, Nova Sustainable Fuels (backed by Octopus Energy Generation), and Synhelion.
What does the letter say?
This letter underscores the need to support Europe’s future-facing aviation start-ups in order to break its dependence on foreign oil imports. Its signatories are calling on the European Commission to:
Raise new funds by extending the EU’s Emissions Trading System (ETS) to cover flights in and out of the EU. While the Commission is reportedly drafting plans to do exactly this, it is facing strong pressure from airline CEOs to abandon the extension.
Commit to allocating a significant proportion of ETS revenues to support innovators in clean aviation technologies. It says that a portion of funding raised from the extension – as much as €79bn by 2035 – could be used to scale European e-fuel production and expedite the development of electric, hybrid, and hydrogen-powered aircraft technologies.
