Ineratec starts production at German e-fuel plant

German renewable energy firm Ineratec has commenced operations at its 2,500 mt/year e-fuel plant in Frankfurt-Höchst.

PHOTO: Ineratec's e-fuel plant in Frankfurt. Ineratec

A portion of the plant’s output will become marine fuels, according to the company.

“Climate-neutral e-fuels are not just technologically possible,” Ineratec noted, adding that this plant “shows they are also ready for the market” to help decarbonise “hard to electrify” sectors such as shipping.

A drop-in alternative

The e-fuel produced at the plant is synthetic crude oil, made by combining biogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) with green hydrogen. This synthetic crude can then be processed into e- or synthetic marine diesel oil (MDO) to be used as a bunker fuel for ships.

Synthetic MDO can be used on its own or as a drop-in fuel in conventional internal combustion engines without requiring any modifications, the company explains.

This differs from other synthetic bunker fuels, such as e-methane or e-methanol, which require specialised onboard equipment, including LNG-capable or methanol-capable engines, dedicated fuel supply systems and storage tanks, to power vessels.

Feedstock sustainability

The biogenic CO2 for this project will be sourced from a nearby biogas plant.

Green hydrogen is typically produced via water electrolysis using renewable energy. But in this case, it will be sourced as a byproduct from a chlorine production process.

According to Euro Chlor, a trade body of European chlor-alkali plant operators, hydrogen produced as a by-product of the chlorine production process – known as the chlor-alkali process – can qualify as green with a very low carbon footprint if powered by renewable electricity.

Ineratec explains that its e-fuels will still emit CO2 during combustion on ships.

But since this CO2 was originally absorbed from the atmosphere by biomass, the fuels can have much lower or even negative well-to-tank emissions and be considered carbon neutral across their lifecycle.

By Konica Bhatt

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