'Green fuels for Hamburg' | Uniper, Airbus and Siemens Energy eye CO2-neutral kerosene
Group also including chemicals firm Sasol ecoFT considers producing at least 10,000 tonnes of green kerosene per year for aviation from 2026 on
German utility Uniper, aircraft manufacturer Airbus, energy tech company Siemens Energy and chemicals firm Sasol ecoFT are considering to produce sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) based on green hydrogen made from renewable energy.
Under the name ‘Green Fuels Hamburg’, the four project partners cover the entire value chain to produce CO2 neutral kerosene, or ‘power-to-liquid or PtL kerosene, and are investigating the feasibility of a commercial project.
If feasible, the group would produce at least 10,000 tonnes of green kerosene per year for aviation in the first expansion stage from 2026 on. The plant alone could provide 20% of the blending quota of PtL kerosene specified by the German government in its PtL roadmap from 2026 on.
"One of Uniper's main goals is the effective decarbonisation of other industries as well as its own, without neglecting security of supply,” Uniper COO asset management Holger Kreetz said.
“Hamburg as a location for innovation - with direct access to renewable energies as well as the customers on the industrial and aviation side - is predestined for a pioneering role in the matter of power-to-liquid.”
In Hamburg, a large-scale commercial facility for the production of green hydrogen from offshore wind power is planned to be built in the area of Billbrook.
The potential PtL fuels plant would be using the so-called Fischer-Tropsch (FT) synthesis process, to produce sustainable aviation fuel from green hydrogen and processed biogenic carbon dioxide.
The sustainable aviation fuel would be CO2-neutral PtL kerosene, which is already certified for use as aviation fuel.
“Electricity-based aviation fuels based on green hydrogen and renewable energies are the key to sustainable flying,” said Stefano Innocenzi, senior vice president new energy at Siemens Energy.
“So far, however, green kerosene is not available in relevant quantities. This is exactly where we come in with "Green Fuels Hamburg": Together with our partners, we are now working at full speed to bring e-kerosene to market on a large scale and to take a pioneering role in the decarbonisation of aviation."
Andre Walter, head of plant and industrial site Hamburg Airbus at Airbus Operations, added: “For a climate-neutral future of aviation, three things are crucial from Airbus' point of view: firstly, increasing the efficiency of our aircraft and fleet modernisation; secondly, Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF); and thirdly, hydrogen as an energy carrier.
“As is well known, green hydrogen is also needed for PtL kerosene, also known as eSAF. Green Fuels Hamburg will make an important contribution to the ramp-up of PtL production in Germany and could become a technology export hit!”
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