At the beginning of each year, EASA conducts an exercise to calculate reference prices for the aviation fuels eligible under the ReFuelEU Aviation Regulation. The reference prices are intended to serve as a reference for EU Member States in their determination of penalties under the ReFuelEU Aviation Regulation as well as for the support mechanism for the use of eligible aviation fuels under the EU ETS Directive (FEETS) (also referred to as “SAF allowance mechanism”). The reference prices are calculated for the respective preceding year (e.g., calculated in 2026 for the 2025 reference year).
Where possible, reference prices are determined using price indexes maintained by price reporting agencies (also referred to as “real index pricing”). For those aviation fuels for which no market price is available for a given reference year, reference prices are calculated using a bottom-up production cost estimation methodology (also referred to as “back-up pricing”).
EASA publishes the reference prices in two distinct publications, at different points during the year:
- A briefing note, published in Q1 each year.
- The Annual Technical Report, published in Q3 each year.
The reference prices included in both publications are identical and refer to the respective preceding reference year.