Minister O'Brien publishes Alternative Fuels for Transport Working Group 2025 Report

Minister for Transport Darragh O’Brien today published the 2025 Report of the inter-departmental Alternative Fuels for Transport Working Group. Transport decarbonisation requires improving alternative and zero emission technology to further reduce reliance on fossil fuels. This 2025 report sets out recommendations for further coordinated action on alternative fuels, which have potential to contribute to decarbonisation, energy security, and to increase renewable energy and energy efficiency savings in the transport sector in Ireland. 
Minister O’Brien said: 
“The transition to zero-emission and alternative fuel technologies is part of our long-term planning to decarbonise transport systems. Global conflicts impacting supply chains further highlight the importance of reducing our reliance on fossil fuels. This Working Group supports our long-term strategy, aligning and coordinating a variety of policies, regulations and support programmes to promote the use of alternative fuels for transport. It ensures policy coherence across the transport sector for focused and sustained Government intervention toward optimal delivery of policy objectives, both nationally and internationally. 
“The solution to decarbonising and moving away from fossil fuel dependence will involve a diverse range of energy pathways, including renewable electricity and electrification of transport and renewable fuels. The Programme for Government commits to increasing renewable energy and to supporting continued action on the use of alternative fuels in the transport sector, with co-benefits in other economic sectors. This includes supporting the decarbonisation of road freight and commercial coaches with fuels such as Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO), hydrogen, electric vehicles and biomethane as well as developing a National Sustainable Aviation Fuel Policy. I look forward to seeing the progress that can be made to further these objectives.”
The Working Group in 2025 continued to promote visibility, coordination and alignment of policy and action concerning alternative fuels in transport. The Group brings together officials from key Government Departments and Agencies with interconnected responsibility concerning climate and energy policy related to alternative fuels with an end-use in transport. Several other subject matter and industry experts, including international energy experts, also contributed to the work of this group in 2025.
Among the priority outputs co-ordinated through the Working Group during 2025 was the draft National Planning Framework (NPF) delivering on requirements of the EU Alternative Fuel Infrastructure Regulation, the progress of the Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Taskforce Report, and research into the availability of future advanced biofuels and renewable fuels of non-biological origin (RFNBO) required to meet EU renewable energy targets in the transport sector.
The working group also gave focus to key challenges in the transport sector concerning decarbonisation of fuels used in the harder-to-abate sectors of road freight, maritime and aviation.  
The recommendations and next steps set out in the report will further these themes and objectives in 2026, aligned to the priorities set out in the Programme for Government, and continuing to deliver on the ambition of the Climate Action Plan and EU Fit for 55.
The report is available to view on the Department of Transport website at https://www.gov.ie/en/department-of-transport/publications/alternative-fuels-for-transport-working-group/