Shell and Moeve Join Forces on SAF Platform, Driving UK Share Gains in Green Energy Push

London, October 13, 2025 – Shell plc has been pleased to welcome Spanish energy giant Moeve as the first external supplier to its sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) blockchain-based platform in a move that highlights the rapid change to green energy.

Coming at an opportune moment when the trading week began with choppy moves, the announcement has been a small ray of sunlight to the stock of oil giant investors, which are gaining slightly in the initial London trading despite the more general jitters in the market over the trade tensions between the U.S. and China.

The shares of Shell, which trade on the London Stock Exchange under the ticker SHEL, opened just slightly higher, up 0.4 per cent to trade at about PS26.50 in the mid-morning. This increase is in the face of a flat FTSE 100 index itself, in the face of the lingering fears in the aftermath of the sharp sell-off on Wall Street last week.

The joint venture with Moeve not only supports Shell in the expanding SAF market but also shows the strategic shift of the company to low-carbon solutions, which makes a significant part of the long-term expansion strategy when regulators and stakeholders increasingly pressure companies to decarbonise the aviation industry.

Dismantling the Moeve-Shell Partnership

The core of this change is the Shell Avelia platform, a digital marketplace that was introduced in 2022 in collaboration with American Express Global Business Travel and Accenture. Avelia is based on a book and claim system where the airlines, fuel manufacturers and corporate clients can exchange certificates to use SAF without the actual delivery at each airport.

This system is based on blockchain technology that handles the issue of transparency, traceability, and verifiable claims, addressing one of the largest obstacles to scaling green fuels, which will demonstrate their environmental impact.

Moeve (formerly Cepsa and the second-largest Spanish oil refiner) is a major force at the table. The company has been increasing its production of SAF at its state-of-the-art La Rabida Energy Park plant, where waste-based feeds such as used cooking oil are used to produce drop-in fuels that can be used by the existing aircraft engines.

Moeve also intends to achieve a scale of 800,000 metric tons annually in output by 2030, which is a very high target, yet it is perfectly aligned with the world aviation aim to reduce emissions by as much as 50 per cent by mid-century.

Through incorporating in Avelia, Moeve will have access to an international market network of purchasers, comprising large airlines and organisations that are keen to neutralise their carbon footprints. In the case of Shell, this will be a milestone in broadening the supplier base of the platform to the outside operations of the platform.

Since its inception, Avelia has already certified more than 41 million gallons of SAF in 17 airports around the globe, yet the introduction of external participants such as Moeve is likely to accelerate the adoption of SAF.

According to industry pundits, this would see SAF being able to increase its portion of the total aviation fuel to something significant, 5-10 per cent by the close of the decade, as opposed to the paltry 0.7 per cent it has at the moment, which has been projected to grow to 10 per cent by the close of this year alone.

The partnership is symptomatic of a wider trend in the industry, in which the use of the industry experience of oil giants in renewables is taking place. SAF is a high-margin opportunity for Shell, which has already invested billions in hydrogen, biofuels, and charging of electric vehicles.

As aviation contributes approximately two per cent of all CO2 gases globally, the certified green fuel market is booming with mandates in the EU, which mandate 6 per cent SAF by 2030 and policies in the UK, which also mandate similar requirements.

Green Transition Strategic Implications to Shell

The agreement provides Shell with a point of contention over the speed at which it is selling off fossil products. In early 2021, the company announced its plan for the Capital Markets Day with a promise of PS10-15 billion annual returns to shareholders till 2025 and devoting up to 25 per cent of capital investment to low-carbon projects. SAF can be well placed within this structure, and it provides a transition between old-fashioned oil trading and energy services of tomorrow.

In the case of Moeve, the tie-up makes it more visible in the foreign markets. Being a comparably new participant in the SAF, which rebranded in 2024, the Spanish company can leverage an established network of logistics and the credibility of Shell.

The combined capability of the two (Shell being a digital expert and Moeve a production powerhouse) might reduce the costs and increase the efficiency of the supply chain, which will make SAF more competitive compared to conventional jet fuel, which is 2-4 times cheaper in terms of gallon-per-gallon prices. There is a feeling of optimism among the environmental groups because they feel that the news is a tangible move towards dealing with the promises of the Paris Agreement.

Nevertheless, there are still hurdles to overcome, a shortage of feedstock, and expensive initial capital investments may limit growth unless the government intervenes in the form of subsidies or carbon taxation. Such innovations benefit the UK with its Jet Zero strategy, which seeks to have net-zero aviation by 2050, which would result in thousands of green jobs in refining and distribution.

Share Price Dynamics: A Sceptical Rebound

In 2025, Shell shares have fallen by approximately 5 per cent since the year-end due to declining oil prices and negative geopolitical impacts on the company. The primary measure, Brent crude, rose 1 per cent today to approximately 72 per barrel, following a fall to five-month lows on Friday due to optimism that U.S.-China rhetoric would de-escalate.

The Moeve deal was another tailwind, with traders referring to it as a boost in interest in Shell’s diversified portfolio. Shell slightly outperformed its counterparts: BP fell 0.2 per cent as TotalEnergies in Paris rose 0.1 per cent.

The resilience of a PS10,000 investment in Shell over the last five years would have increased to approximately PS14,100. The company has recently paid 1.32 million shares back to the market as a buyback, demonstrating its confidence in the valuation.

In the future, Shell will provide more hints on the performance of trading with its third-quarter update, which will be presented later this month. It is projected to have a stable LNG, which is a boon in Shell earnings, yet refining margins are tightened due to oversupply.

Shareholders will be keen on the performance of the Moeve integration into the actual revenues, and this would be able to increase tens of millions of dollars in Shell SAF’s book in the near future.

Staying on the Broader Market Turbulence

The current FTSE 100 index covers volatility. Asian markets crashed on the profit taking, the U.S futures are signalling a possible recovery after Donald Trump reversed his tariff move against China.

In the case of UK energy stocks, the industry beats 1% a week, indicating optimism in hydrogen trials and wind offshore auctions, but with Russian threats of a hybrid invasion of the European grids, there is an element of risk.

Here, the SAF push of Shell would make it a progressive thinker. When Big Oil is struggling with dwindling mega-profits (down 30% as of 2022), such renewable investments as this joint venture may insulate dividends and fuel future growth. Shell has a forward yield of 4.2 per cent. and a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.5, which makes it a defensive income-seeking stock.

With the aviation industry racing to sustainability, the alliance between Shell and Moeve may be groundbreaking. To the shareholders, it’s a disturbance of the fact that in a transition period, flexibility is not greenwashing, but good business.

It remains to be seen whether this leads to a long-lasting surge or ends up being dampened in the vagaries of oil; however, one thing is clear: the skies are turning greener and Shell is in the flight.