- A consortium with Uniper, Airbus, Siemens Energy and Sasol ecoFT, together with other partners, aims to supply Hamburg, as an aviation location, with sustainable aviation fuels.
- Integrated hydrogen and synthetic fuel derived from renewable energy (eSAF) production on an industrial scale.
- Annually more than 10,000 tonnes of green kerosene from 2026 onwards.
Under the name “Green Fuels Hamburg”, the energy supplier Uniper, the energy technology group Siemens Energy, the aircraft manufacturer Airbus and the chemical and energy company Sasol ecoFT announced that they are investigating the feasibility of a commercial project to produce sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) in Germany.
The four project partners cover the entire value-chain to produce CO2-neutral kerosene, so-called power-to-liquid or PtL kerosene for short. They are supported by the Technical University of Hamburg (TUHH) as a consultant partner as well as the Hamburg Senate (BWI, BUKEA) and Hamburg Airport. In addition, Emirates Airline has expressed its interest in being involved in the use of the PtL kerosene produced.
“Green Fuels Hamburg” aims to make a significant contribution to de-carbonising the aviation sector. If feasible, the production capacity required would be at least 10 000 tonnes of green kerosene annually for aviation in the first expansion stage from 2026. This means that this plant alone could provide 20% of the blending quota of PtL kerosene specified by the German government in the PtL roadmap from 2026.
As one of the world’s leading locations for innovation and aviation, Hamburg offers excellent conditions for this pioneering large-scale project, as the region is close to renewable energies and has the necessary customers in industry and aviation. A large-scale commercial plant for the production of green hydrogen from electricity generated by offshore wind turbines is planned to be built in the area of the Port of Hamburg. The potential PtL fuels plant would be using the 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.
“Green Fuels Hamburg” could thus be a pioneer for PtL production in Germany and actively supports the ambitions of the Hanseatic City of Hamburg to build a sustainable economy with renewable energy sources.
“At Sasol ecoFT we pioneer sustainable fuels and chemicals to transition to a net-zero world. We will use our proprietary technology and know-how of running large-scale production plants to contribute to the success of this truly world-changing initiative, ” said Dr Helge Sach, Senior Vice President – Sasol ecoFT.
Author: Bryan Groenendaal
