INERATEC introduces groundbreaking production of sustainable aviation fuels at Frankfurt plant

The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) is funding the third and final phase of the Kopernikus project P2X (Power-to-X) to sustainably transform the aviation industry. During the three-year funding period, the production of e-Kerosene will be intensively investigated to create a sustainable alternative to fossil kerosene.

INERATEC, a leading company in e-Fuel production, plays a central role as an industrial partner. With the pioneering plant in the Frankfurt Höchst Industrial Park, INERATEC will demonstrate the production of ASTM-compliant e-Kerosene directly at the production site.

e-Kerosene: The future of sustainable aviation

INERATEC is currently building a pioneering plant on an industrial scale at industrial park Höchst in Frankfurt am Main, which will produce up to 2,500 tons of e-Fuels from hydrogen and CO₂ every year. The plant will recycle up to 8,000 tons of biogenic CO₂ per year – about as much as 100,000 trees can absorb. This plant forms the basis to produce synthetic fuels and will be expanded to include an additional processing step as part of the Kopernikus project. This step has already been successfully implemented and validated on a pre-industrial scale as part of the “PowerFuel” research project.

The e-Kerosene produced in this process complies with the standards and specifications of ASTM 7566 and can be used as JET A1 fuel. The next step is the industrial implementation, in collaboration with strong partners from research and industry. These partners include the German Aerospace Center (DLR), Hessen Trade & Invest GmbH, the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), the Provadis School of International Management and Technology AG, and DECHEMA e.V.

“Our pioneering plant and the integration of the additional processing step in the Kopernikus project are groundbreaking for the industrial production of urgently needed e-Kerosene. This is a significant step towards the defossilization of aviation and once again demonstrates the innovative strength of our production technology,” explains Dr Tim Böltken, Managing Director of INERATEC.

Diverse use for e-Fuels

In addition to e-Kerosene, the Power-to-Liquid plant also produces fuel for shipping and road transport (e-Diesel) as well as base materials for the chemical industry (e-Waxes and e-Naphtha). Up to 60% of the so-called “FT-Crude”, the synthetic crude oil from CO₂ and H₂ is known, can be converted into kerosene with the additional processing step. This expansion enables INERATEC to demonstrate the entire process of e-Kerosene production on an industrial scale and to integrate this processing step in future plants depending on customer requirements.

“The selection of INERATEC for the final funding phase of the Kopernikus project P2X is a strong message from the federal government to accelerate the sustainable transformation of all mobility sectors,” underlines Tim Böltken.

INERATEC is already planning further industrial plants worldwide, including in Chile, France and Amsterdam. The company is using the Kopernikus project to sustainably transform aviation, which is difficult to defossilize. This support is in line with efforts to oblige airlines to use synthetic fuels via fixed quotes. An EU-wide blending ratio of 2% bio-kerosene and e-Fuels will apply from 2025.