Lufthansa supports world's first production plant for CO₂-neutral, synthetic aviation fuels.

On November 4, 2021, the climate protection organization Atmosfair inaugurated the world's first production plant for manufacturing synthetic fuel for aircraft (power-to-liquid = PtL) from water, CO₂ and renewable electricity in Werlte/Emsland in northern Germany. The e-fuel is then transported from Emsland to Hamburg, where it is processed into Jet A1 kerosene.

The first customer is the Lufthansa Group, which is thus using completely CO₂-neutral kerosene based on electricity for the first time.

Lufthansa Cargo and Kühne+Nagel have made a joint commitment to support the production plant in Werlte/Emsland in Germany by purchasing the equivalent of 20 tons or 25,000 liters annually.

CO₂-neutral fuels or Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) are an essential pillar on the way to CO₂-neutral flying.

These fuels can be produced in various ways. Until now, Lufthansa Cargo and Kuehne+Nagel have used Sustainable Aviation Fuels of biogenic origin, i.e. synthetic paraffin based on used cooking oils, for example. In the case of synthetic paraffin, which is also known as power-to-liquid fuel, the synthetic crude oil is produced from regeneratively generated electricity, water and CO₂. The electricity-based fuels are currently still in the development stage towards industrial production, but are already considered a long-term alternative to conventional paraffin or biogenic SAF, as they are theoretically to be produced without availability limits.

With this Atmosfair cooperation, we are making an important contribution to the development of PtL production in Germany and promoting the market development of the first available CO₂-neutral synthetic kerosene.