Zero carbon emission ships and planes must be central to the Sustainable Transport Investment Plan (STIP)
Letter | October 2025
Summary
The SASHA Coalition joined a collective of ten leading companies and industry coalitions in writing a letter to European Commissioners and the Danish Presidency of the Council of the EU calling for the Sustainable Transport Investment Plan (STIP) to introduce policy to support producers of zero-carbon emission shipping and aviation technologies.
Zero carbon emission ship and aircraft technologies offer a huge opportunity for advancing Europe’s Clean Industrial Deal goals of industrial competitiveness driven by innovation, energy sovereignty, and clean energy systems.
Yet despite their strategic significance for the EU, these key technologies including wind propulsion, fuel-cell, battery electric, and hydrogen combustion systems have long been overlooked in regulatory frameworks. This policy gap has left without the market incentives that early-stage technologies need, slowing development.
The letter was signed by Ecojet, ZeroAvia, ZULU Associates, MONTE, Hybrid Air Vehicles, the SASHA Coalition, LH2 Shipping, Condor, Beyond Aero, and Zero Emissions Ship Technology Association (ZESTAs).
What does the letter say?
The letter, facilitated by the SASHA Coalition and signed its members who are leading in these core technologies, calls for the STIP to:
Designate zero-carbon emission aircraft and vessels as priority technologies for investment. Recognising their strategic importance will close the policy gap and signal to markets the EU’s commitment. Investments should support projects from demonstration to scale-up, bridging the “valley of death” between early-stage funding and commercialisation.
Introduce mandatory targets for zero-carbon emission flights and voyages. A proportion of inter-EU flights and maritime journeys should operate on zero-carbon emission aircraft and vessels by 2040, with incremental targets thereafter. Mandates will provide the demand certainty needed to de-risk investment, mirroring the success of FEUM and REFEUA.
Ensure renewable hydrogen availability for aviation through a dedicated Hydrogen Bank budget. This will mitigate supply bottlenecks, reduce financial risk, and provide long-term offtake certainty for producers.
Establish regional testbeds to demonstrate zero-carbon emission aviation and shipping. Ports and airports serving as regional hubs, linked by ‘green’ public service obligation routes, will showcase viability, foster infrastructure development, and strengthen regional connectivity.
Improve the Alternative Fuel Infrastructure Regulation (AFIR) to mandate hydrogen infrastructure and electric charging at ports and airports. Strategic development of storage, transport, refuelling, and charging facilities within testbed networks will ensure commercial deployment and interoperability across Member States.
