German government, industry agree SAF development plan

The German government and representatives from the aviation and oil industries have agreed a plan for development and use of synthetic 'Power to Liquid' (PtL) aviation fuel.

The agreement aims to create enough capacity for Germany to produce at least 200,000 t/yr of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), also known as biojet, by 2030. This is the equivalent of around one-third of current requirements.

PtL technology, which produces fuel from hydrogen and CO2, is largely tried and tested but large-scale production still needs to be developed, according to the German environment ministry.

Minister Svenja Schulze said that synthetic fuels are one of the main options to reach CO2-neutral air traffic.

"Electricity-based fuels should find their way from the laboratory to industrial production as soon as possible", Schulze said.

Germany plans to introduce a blending quota for synthetic fuels in aviation — a PtL quota — of 0.5pc in 2026, rising to 1pc in 2028 and 2pc by 2030. The quota creates investment security and is supposed to support the scale-up of production.

German aviation association BDL's president Reiner Winkler said the agreement offers a basis for politics and industry to work together "to ensure that sustainable aviation fuels are available in sufficient quantities and at competitive prices".

SAF production is already gaining some momentum in Germany. Shell in February said it will build a PtL facility at Wesseling capable of producing around 100,000 t/yr of synthetic SAF and bio-naphtha, with commissioning scheduled by the end of 2025. Renewable fuels producer Gevo and local speciality fuel supplier HCS Group agreed this week to build a facility in Speyer that will use Gevo's low-carbon alcohol-to-jet (ATJ) technology to produce around 60,000t of renewable hydrocarbons, advanced biofuels and SAF by the end of 2024.

Munich airport this week said that it will offer SAF from 1 June.

"The SAF fuels used today are mostly produced from renewable raw materials, so-called 'Biomass to Liquid (BtL)' fuels. In the future, however, we will also see synthetically produced paraffin that will be available on the market, so-called 'Power to Liquid (PtL)' fuels," Munich Airport said.

By Sophie Barthel