Uniper, Siemens, Airbus and Sasol form Green Fuels Hamburg to produce eSAF by 2026

If the partners deem the project feasible, the city of Hamburg, Germany, shown here from an airplane, will be home to a new 10,000-ton-per-year eSAF plant by 2026.

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 June 23 that they are investigating the feasibility of a commercial project to produce sustainable aviation fuel (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 decarbonizing the aviation sector. If feasible, the production capacity required would be at least 10,000 metric tons of green kerosene annually for aviation in the first expansion stage from 2026. This means that this plant alone could provide 20 percent 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 Hamburg Billbrook. The potential PtL-fuels plant would be using the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis process to produce SAF from green hydrogen and processed biogenic carbon dioxide. The SAF 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.

“On the way to climate neutrality, green hydrogen is a key technology of the future—this also applies to its downstream products such as electricity-based fuels,” said Michael Westhagemann, senator for economical affairs and innovation. “With a resurgence in passenger numbers, high air-freight volumes and rising oil prices, alternatives to fossil kerosene and solutions for reducing CO2 emissions are indispensable. The climate-neutral aviation of the future needs global projects like Green Fuels Hamburg to take a decisive step forward with production.”

Jens Kerstan, senator for environment, climate, energy and agriculture, added, “Green fuels based on hydrogen will play a decisive role in the decarbonization of air transport and maritime shipping.”

Holger Kreetz, an executive at Uniper, said one of his company’s main goals is the effective decarbonization of other industries as well as its own, without neglecting security of supply.

“Electricity-based aviation fuels based on green hydrogen and renewable energies are the key to sustainable flying,” said Stefano Innocenzi, an executive with Siemens Energy. “So far, however, green kerosene is not available in relevant quantities. This is exactly where we come in with Green Fuels Hamburg. Together with our partners, we are now working at full speed to bring e-kerosene to market on a large scale and to take a pioneering role in the decarbonization of aviation.”

Will Löfberg with Emirates Airline added, “Emirates is strongly supportive of this initiative to develop environmentally and economically sustainable power-to-liquid fuel. The launch of the Green Fuels Hamburg project is a major milestone towards scaling up the production of this type of sustainable aviation fuel, which has the potential to make a substantial contribution towards the aviation industry’s emissions-reduction goals. We welcome Germany’s leadership in bringing together international expertise and investing in the technology to bring power-to-liquid fuel ultimately to the market.”