Groundbreaking for E-Fuel Production Plant in Frankfurt

Breaking the ground for INERATECs pioneer plant (from left to right Joachim Kreysing, Tarek Al-Wazir, Tim Böltken und Caspar Schuchmann) © INERATEC

INERATEC held the groundbreaking ceremony for its pioneering power-to-liquid (PtL) plant in the industrial park Frankfurt Höchst together with Hesse’s Economics Minister Tarek Al-Wazir. Starting in 2024, the plant will produce up to 2,500 tons of sustainable e-fuels annually, making an important contribution to achieving climate-protection targets.

The PtL plant will use CO₂ and green hydrogen as feedstocks to produce liquid hydrocarbons, also known as e-fuels. The industrial park in Frankfurt Höchst offers ideal production conditions thanks to its existing infrastructure and the biogas plant that Infraserv Höchst operates at the site. The demand for climate-friendly synthetic fuels in the shipping, aviation and chemical industries is gigantic. As a pioneer in this field, INERATEC will meet this the need.

CEO Tim Boeltken accentuates the global significance of the project: “As a company, we have recognized that power-to-X technologies need to be deployed in global sweet spots that offer optimal conditions in the form of low-cost renewable electricity. With our modular and scalable technology, we can meet the requirements of these locations and offer customized solutions to drive the decarbonization of industry and mobility. The pioneer plant in Frankfurt is a milestone in the availability of sustainable e-fuels and an important step towards a climate-neutral future.”

The pioneer plant is the first large-scale industrial PtL project in Germany. The plant modules are being manufactured in Karlsruhe since the summer of 2022 and will be gradually integrated at the site in the following months. The commissioning process will begin at the end of the year and the planned start of production for the entire plant is in 2024.

Hesse’s Economics Minister Tarek Al-Wazir emphasizes the importance of the project for sustainable mobility in the state: “With the largest pilot plant for synthetic kerosene in Germany, Hesse will be a pioneer in climate protection in aviation. The aim of the pilot plant is to produce synthetic kerosene on a much larger scale than before in order to gain experience for mass production. In the short term, blending can save CO₂ emissions, and in the long term it will make it possible to make flying CO₂-neutral. However, one thing is clear: In general, the economical and efficient use of energy must come first, and e-fuels will remain a rare commodity for some time to come. They must be used specifically where direct electrification is not possible, especially in the air or at sea.”

“Innovation has a long tradition at Industriepark Höchst, because the chemical industry has always played a pioneering role in developing technologies of the future,” said Dr. Joachim Kreysing, Managing Director of Infraserv Höchst. The company operates Industriepark Höchst, one of Europe’s largest research and production sites for the chemical and pharmaceutical industries, and is committed to the industry’s sustainable transformation. Dr. Joachim Kreysing said, “We are pleased that INERATEC has chosen Industriepark Höchst as the site for the project, thus expanding our innovation cluster.” Since Infraserv Höchst has been committed to advancing hydrogen technology for many years and brings a wealth of experience to the table, he said, the conditions for the INERATEC project are ideal, especially since the new plant can be superbly integrated into the production network.

INERATEC is investing over €30 million in the construction of the plant, supported by the Environmental Innovation Program. The funding from the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection confirms the climate protection potential and the pioneering character of the project. With high-ranking guests from industry and politics, INERATEC is signaling its pioneer spirit and vision for the global use of the technology.

At the production site in Karlsruhe: Manufacturing the modules for the pioneer plant © INERATEC

INERATEC is a pioneer in the field of Power-to-Liquid applications. The company supplies sustainable fuels as well as chemical products. Modular chemical plants for power-to-X and gas-to-liquid applications use hydrogen from renewable electricity and greenhouse gases such as CO₂ to produce e-kerosene, CO₂-neutral gasoline, clean diesel or synthetic waxes, methanol or SNG. Founded in 2016, INERATEC has already implemented industrial-scale power-to-liquid plants at German sites to boost the availability of sustainable fuels and chemicals in various transport sectors such as aviation.

Industriepark Höchst

Industriepark Höchst covers 460 hectares and is home to some 90 companies in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, basic and specialty chemicals, crop protection, food additives and services sectors. Some 22,000 people work on the site in western Frankfurt am Main. here. The total investment since 2000 amounts to more than 8 billion euros. As the site’s operating company, Infraserv Höchst provides companies with services in the fields of energy, waste disposal, network operation, site services, occupational health and safety, environmental protection and facility management. Subsidiaries belonging to the Infraserv Höchst Group provide logistics, education and process-engineering services.

Infraserv GmbH & Co. Höchst KG employs about 2,100 people and 200 trainees. The Infraserv Höchst Group has about 3,000 employees and 230 trainees. In 2022, Infraserv Höchst, including its subsidiaries Infraserv Logistics, Infraserv Höchst Process Technology, Provadis Partner for Education and Consulting and Thermal Conversion Compound, generated sales of around EUR 1.6 billion.