Photo: Lufthansa Group
For commercial aviation to become green in the near future, airline operators need to support alternative fuel and propulsion systems development and commit to making the switch. United Airlines is one of the U.S. operators that did this, by recently signing the biggest sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) purchase agreement in history. Now, European operator Lufthansa also gives a great example.
It will take a while before hybrid and fully electric aircraft can operate on a large scale, across the globe. Until then, SAF is the most reliable alternative to conventional fuel, and several major players in the aerospace industry have already been promoting it for a few years now. One of them is Lufthansa Group, which has been involved in the research and use of SAF for many years.
The German operator recently announced a new project that will take the transition towards a green aviation one step further. This pioneering project is the first industrial plant in the world that produces carbon-neutral synthetic kerosene, based on electricity. The plant is located in Emsland, Germany, and it’s operated by atmosfair, a climate protection organization.
Lufthansa is a partner in the project and has agreed to purchase at least 25,000 liters (6,605 gallons) of e-kerosene per year, over a period of five years. Plus, the company initiated a partnership with logistics brand Kuehne+Nagel, which will promote SAF-based shipments globally.
Unlike biogenic SAF that’s made from agricultural waste or used cooking oil, synthetic kerosene is made from water, CO2, and renewable electricity, which gives it unlimited availability. Electricity-based fuels, also known as power-to-liquid (PtL) fuels, are still in the first development stages. Until now, e-kerosene was only available in small, laboratory quantities. This is why this new project is revolutionary. For the first time, an innovative fuel that could be even better than SAF will be produced on an industrial scale.
The future success of the Emsland plant will lead, perhaps, to more electricity-based kerosene plants in other parts of the world, as well. For now, a big step for PtL production in Germany has been taken.
The German operator recently announced a new project that will take the transition towards a green aviation one step further. This pioneering project is the first industrial plant in the world that produces carbon-neutral synthetic kerosene, based on electricity. The plant is located in Emsland, Germany, and it’s operated by atmosfair, a climate protection organization.
Lufthansa is a partner in the project and has agreed to purchase at least 25,000 liters (6,605 gallons) of e-kerosene per year, over a period of five years. Plus, the company initiated a partnership with logistics brand Kuehne+Nagel, which will promote SAF-based shipments globally.
Unlike biogenic SAF that’s made from agricultural waste or used cooking oil, synthetic kerosene is made from water, CO2, and renewable electricity, which gives it unlimited availability. Electricity-based fuels, also known as power-to-liquid (PtL) fuels, are still in the first development stages. Until now, e-kerosene was only available in small, laboratory quantities. This is why this new project is revolutionary. For the first time, an innovative fuel that could be even better than SAF will be produced on an industrial scale.
The future success of the Emsland plant will lead, perhaps, to more electricity-based kerosene plants in other parts of the world, as well. For now, a big step for PtL production in Germany has been taken.
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