Synthetic fuels from renewable energies, so-called reFuels, promise a CO2 reduction of up to 90 percent compared to conventional fuels. They can be produced in large quantities and it is already possible today to use them in almost any vehicle. Researchers at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have proven this in large-scale projects such as reFuels – Rethinking Fuels, funded by Baden-Württemberg. The aim of the new InnoFuels platform is to create a network of the many national and European research projects for the further development, production, and application of power-to-liquid fuels and biofuels, to identify synergies and thus help to accelerate in particular the production of larger quantities of power-based liquid fuels.
“In order to reach the national and international climate-protection targets, reFuels will be needed for certain applications,” says Winfried Hermann, Transport Minister of Baden-Württemberg. “There will be a continuing demand for liquid fuels, in particular for air and marine transport. This is different from cars, for example, which can be powered more efficiently by batteries.” And the minister is convinced that reFuels could also help ensure the resilience of mobility, even in the event of disasters. For this reason, the state of Baden-Württemberg, together with its partners from the Hessian Ministry of Economic Affairs, Energy, Transport and Housing, supports the InnoFuels platform as an alliance of the stakeholders in industry, application, and research in the joint advisory committee and in the focus areas of innovation.
Synthetic reFuels produced from renewable sources are seen as a beacon of hope in the struggle to mitigate climate change: “For achieving climate-protection targets, reFuels offer a climate-friendly and at the same time economical solution,” says Professor Holger Hanselka, President of KIT. “At KIT, we are doing research on a wide variety of approaches to reduce CO2 emissions in the transport sector and to make the mobility of the future sustainable. The key to success will be to find the optimum solution for each of the various requirements. To this end, the research activities of KIT in the fields of energy, mobility, and information are closely interlinked.”
“reFuels promise not only a reduction of up to 90 percent in CO2 emissions, compared to conventional fuels, but they also allow the continued use of existing vehicle fleets equipped with combustion engines – and the entire fuel supply infrastructure from production to transport and distribution,” says Professor Thomas Hirth, Vice President for Transfer and International Affairs at KIT.
“We have already shown that reFuels work for both older and modern cars as well as for commercial vehicles or locomotives,” states Dr. Olaf Toedter of the KIT Institut für Kolbenmaschinen (Institute of Internal Combustion Engines), who is in charge of coordinating InnoFuels. “We were also able to produce tons of reFuels that meet the existing standards for Otto and diesel fuels. With the InnoFuels platform, we now want to bundle all available information on reFuels, team up with experts from science, industry, and politics to develop overall solutions, and prepare guidelines as well as research and action recommendations.”
Setting the Framework Conditions for the Production of Large Quantities of Power-Based Fuels and Advanced Biofuels
To date, power-based fuels have mainly been produced in research quantities. To allow increasing admixture rates of these fuels in the future and to make a sufficient quantity of reFuels available for air and marine transport, much larger quantities will have to be produced on an industrial scale. In addition to technical issues, the InnoFuels platform will therefore also focus on discussing the optimum design of rules and economic conditions for the nationwide mass production of reFuels. Toedter thinks that for a rapid market ramp-up, potential producers would indeed need clarity and long-term certainty on whether renewable power-based fuels will count against the greenhouse gas-reduction quotas required to meet the European Union's climate-protection targets.
The InnoFuels project is scheduled to run for 3.5 years. It is funded by the Federal Ministry of Transport with a total of around EUR 5.2 million.
Partners Involved in the InnoFuels Project
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) with the Institut für Kolbenmaschinen (Institute of Internal Combustion Engines) and the Institute of Catalysis Research and Technology; Mineralölraffinerie Oberrhein GmbH & Co. KG (MiRO); Center for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg (ZSW); e-Mobil BW (State Agency for New Mobility Solutions and Automotive Baden-Württemberg); Infraserv GmbH & Co. Höchst KG; Institute of Aerospace Combustion Technology of the German Aerospace Center; CENA, Hessen Trade & Invest GmbH; Deutsche Lufthansa AG; University of Rostock, Chair of Piston Machines and Internal Combustion Engines; Rolls-Royce Solutions GmbH (RRS); Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG; Volkswagen AG; DBFZ Deutsches Biomasseforschungszentrum gemeinnützige GmbH; International PtX Hub Berlin; RheinMain University of Applied Sciences; Frontier Economics Limited.
The joint advisory committee, which has a coordinating function, includes, besides the alliance applicant, the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Transport, the Hessian Ministry of Economics, Energy, Transport and Housing, the Hessian Centre of Competence for Climate, Environment and Noise Protection in Aviation (CENA), the Center for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research (ZSW), and, as industry representatives, Mineralölraffinerie Oberrhein, and Industriepark Höchst, as well as the German Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport (BMDV). It is planned to affiliate further members in the course of the application phase, for example other federal states.
Being “The Research University in the Helmholtz Association”, KIT creates and imparts knowledge for the society and the environment. It is the objective to make significant contributions to the global challenges in the fields of energy, mobility, and information. For this, about 10,000 employees cooperate in a broad range of disciplines in natural sciences, engineering sciences, economics, and the humanities and social sciences. KIT prepares its 22,800 students for responsible tasks in society, industry, and science by offering research-based study programs. Innovation efforts at KIT build a bridge between important scientific findings and their application for the benefit of society, economic prosperity, and the preservation of our natural basis of life. KIT is one of the German universities of excellence.