Increasing efficiency in the production of sustainable aviation fuels  

Since 2016, the project partners from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, INERATEC, Sunfire and Climeworks have been working on the (further) development and production of sustainable, synthetic fuels. The project is currently in its third funding phase. Significant progress has now been made once again: Industry partner Sunfire's innovative co-electrolysis technology with a capacity of 220 kilowatts has been successfully coupled with INERATEC's fuel synthesis. This technology converts water vapor and CO₂ directly into synthesis gas in a single, highly efficient step, which significantly increases the efficiency of the overall process. 

What does commercial fuel production look like?

INERATEC is aiming for fuel synthesis on a commercial scale. Europe's largest Fischer-Tropsch production plant is currently being built in the Höchst Industrial Park near Frankfurt, which will enable the production of synthetic fuels on a ton scale for the first time. The Kopernikus project “Power2Fuels” aims to produce standard-compliant e-kerosene: after demonstrating that the specifications for sustainable aviation fuel can be achieved on a demonstration scale, the commercial scale will now follow.  

INERATEC has played a key role since the start of the Kopernikus project in 2016. In this first phase, a compact pilot plant was developed that was the first in the world to combine CO₂ extraction from the air with the production of synthesis gas and its conversion to kerosene in a microstructured Fischer-Tropsch reactor. This technology was awarded first prize at the Cleantech Open Global Ideas Challenge in San Francisco in 2018.  

With this continuous further development of the technology, INERATEC is making a significant contribution to reducing CO₂ emissions in air traffic and making mobility more climate-friendly.