E-fuels project developer Ineratec has signed agreements worth €70m ($75.5m) with the European Investment Bank and Breakthrough Energy Catalyst, which it will use to finance Europe’s largest green hydrogen-based synthetic aviation fuel (e-SAF) project.
Ineratec designs modular systems that combine green hydrogen and captured CO2 to produce e-fuels, including synthetic kerosene for aviation.
Construction on its flagship project at the Frankfurt Höchst industrial park, which will produce 2,500 tonnes a year of synthetic aviation fuels, began in 2023 with commissioning originally scheduled for last year.
Carbon will be sourced from the nearby biogas plant operated by Infraserv Höchst, although Ineratec has previously been involved in a pilot to produce e-fuels using solid-oxide electrolysers from Sunfire and CO2 captured directly from the atmosphere via Climeworks technology.
Although Ineratec has not confirmed how much electrolyser capacity the plant will have, nor which manufacturer is providing the equipment, it has also signed an early-stage deal to build a 10MW facility in Chile that would produce 3,500 tonnes of e-fuels a year — suggesting the German project will be closer to 7MW.
The firm highlights that a single long-haul flight between Frankfurt and New York would use 80 tonnes of kerosene, while the wider aviation sector in Europe will be subject to a 1.2% blending mandate for synthetic fuels by 2030.
At the start of construction, Ineratec said it would invest more than €30m into the e-fuels project, which is also backed by the German federal government’s Environmental Innovation Program.
Hydrogen Insight has reached out for further detail on how the €70m from EIB and Breakthrough will be used.
EIB has specifically signed a €40m “venture debt” agreement, where repayments are based on the company’s performance rather than a set rate over the course of the loan, without taking a stake in the company.
Meanwhile, Breakthrough Energy Catalyst — a platform of Bill Gates-founded Breakthrough Energy that specifically funds emerging climate technologies — has provided a straight €30m grant.
