Sustainable Aviation Fuel Takes Off: Frankfurt's e-Fuel Plant

Frankfurt to become home of largest e-fuel production facility in Europe to support decarbonisation strategy

Germany's initiative to cut down on carbon emissions has been considerably enhanced by a report of the establishment of a new factory to manufacture e-fuel in Frankfurt. INERATEC, Germany's leading industrial conglomerate and with background in the manufacture of e-fuels and e-chemicals, has been tasked with the responsibility of using €70 million to construct Europe's largest e-fuel plant. The factory will be taking a central role in ensuring the success of Germany's decarbonisation policy, especially in aviation.

The plant is a dream come true for the company following a €40 million European Investment Bank (EIB) loan and a €30 million Breakthrough Energy Catalyst grant. With the funding, INERATEC will commence the construction of the plant where most of the plant will focus on the production of synthetic fuels such as Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), sea fuels, and e-Diesel.

INERATEC produces a complete range of synthetic fuels using Power-to-Liquid (PtL) technology. PtL is a process of blending green hydrogen, which is derived from waste gases in industry, with CO2 stored from biogenic sources like biogas plants or industrial flue gas. The new process is highly carbon-efficient since it utilizes CO2 that would otherwise be released into the atmosphere.

The plant to be commissioned will produce about 2,500 tonnes of e-fuel every year. The e-fuel can replace fossil kerosene used in long-distance flights, and it will be a boom for the aviation sector because it will lower the carbon footprint for the sector. The project is supported by the European Union climate change programme, and it is controlled by the European ReFuelEU Aviation regulation wherein airlines will need to utilize not less than 1.2% Sustainable Aviation Fuel (e-SAF) from 2030.

Another of the INERATEC process's main strengths is that the production facilities are small in size and are modular. The facilities are also expandable and modular, and this means that the technology will be able to be applied in various parts of Europe and other locations throughout the world. This will allow for providing the production of e-fuel with the ability to scale up rapidly in case of increased demand, especially as the aviation industry is set to transition to cleaner fuel.

Frankfurt factory is a huge step towards industrialising e-fuel production. Since electrification is the existential transition for lowering emissions in most industries, aviation is one of the harder-to-decarbonise ones because long-haul flights consume so much energy. E-fuels like SAF offer an appealing solution by being a drop-in fuel for normal jet fuel without the need for radical alterations to current planes or infrastructure.

The project's success is a milestone for sustainable aviation fuel production, which will be in a position to make a contribution to greenhouse gas emission mitigation on an increasingly larger basis across the world. E-fuels have the potential to deliver impact where direct electrification is not feasible, e.g. shipping and air traffic, and could be a significant contribution to global climate goals.

INERATEC's new factory will be the European gold standard for producing e-fuels in the next few years. With governments searching for alternative ways to achieve their climate objectives, such projects illustrate that e-fuels can form a meaningful part of the transition to cleaner energy.

Besides the environmental reduction, the plant will also create employment and stimulate local economic development. The modularity of the production units even offers opportunities for local firms for integration into the value chain and hence economic benefits within the region.

This technology is one giant step towards the global transition to greener and cleaner energy. With increased private and public backing, e-fuels can be a major facilitator to the net-zero emissions goal for hard-to-electrify industries.While Europe maintains its position on its ambitious climate goals, Frankfurt-based INERATEC's new e-fuel plant will position Germany at the technology leader in the energy sector. INERATEC is helping make decarbonization of industries so central to the world economy possible by ramping up e-fuel production.