Moeve Partners with Germany's Skytanking to Compete for Aircraft Refuelling at Aena Airports
Why It MattersFuelling contracts at major Spanish airports increasingly depend on partners that pair local supply infrastructure with operators who already run multi-country ground-handling networks.
What happened
Spanish energy company Moeve has formed a strategic alliance with German aviation fuelling specialist Skytanking to compete for aircraft refuelling contracts across the Aena airport network in Spain. Under the agreement, Moeve is opening the capital of its subsidiary Spanish Intoplane Services (SIS), with Skytanking acquiring a 50% stake. The joint venture will combine Moeve's fuel supply capacity with Skytanking's operational expertise to bid in upcoming Aena tenders covering airports on the Spanish mainland and the Balearic Islands.
Skytanking, owned by PrimeFlight Aviation Services — itself backed by US funds The Sterling Group and Capitol Meridian Partners — currently operates at Barcelona-El Prat, Palma de Mallorca, Málaga, Valencia, and Lleida airports, and is present in 140 airports across 17 countries. SIS, previously 100% owned by Moeve, has been operating at Madrid-Barajas airport. Other expected bidders in the anticipated Aena tenders include BP, Repsol, Meroil, and Exolum.
Carlos Barrasa, Executive Vice President for Commercial & Clean Energies at Moeve, said the integration of both companies within SIS "creates a better-positioned platform to compete, grow and serve our clients across the region." Skytanking Senior Vice President for Business Development Amir Ibrahim described Spain as one of the most important markets for the company and SIS as a "privileged base" for sustainable growth.
The alliance also targets accelerated deployment of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). Moeve, led by Maarten Wetselaar, operates refineries at Gibraltar-San Roque (Cádiz) and La Rábida (Huelva). A second-generation biofuels plant under development in Palos de la Frontera (Huelva) is expected to begin production next year, representing an investment of €1.2 billion. The facility's capacity will exceed 1.5 million tonnes of biofuels — including SAF, renewable diesel HVO 100, and biogas — and is projected to avoid up to three million tonnes of CO2 emissions annually.
Industry impact & what to watch
This deal illustrates how airport fuelling concessions in Spain are consolidating around partnerships that pair a domestic fuel supplier with an international ground-handling specialist, rather than either side competing alone. Aena's tender structure rewards bidders who can show both reliable fuel sourcing and multi-airport operational capability, which is exactly the combination SIS now assembles by bringing Skytanking's five-airport Spanish footprint and 140-airport global presence into a subsidiary that already held the Madrid-Barajas concession.
The SAF angle adds a second axis to the competition: refuelling contracts increasingly sit alongside a supplier's capacity to deliver sustainable fuel volumes, which is where Moeve's refineries and its Palos de la Frontera biofuels project become relevant to how the joint venture positions itself against BP, Repsol, Meroil, and Exolum in the same tenders.
The next milestones to watch are the formal launch of Aena's refuelling tenders across the mainland and Balearic airports, and progress on the Palos de la Frontera plant toward its expected start of production next year.
