Yes, it's the secondary effects that require energy. A ship
launched vertically must not only get the kinetic energy of
final velocity, it must also balance against the pull of gravity
(i.e. energy required to hover) during vertical ascent. It must
also overcome air resistance. An aircraft launch, ie. taking off
horizontally, means that forward motion, requiring less initial
energy, can create the lift to balance gravity. However, it runs
longer, so basically what horizontal lift does is expend about
the same amount of energy, but spread over a longer time with
weaker engines; possibly more because you are fighting air
resistance for a longer time while going horizontally.