Climeworks provides raw material for clean kerosene

Clean kerosene will be made available to the aviation industry in future. The Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) reported in a press release that it is working with partners in industry and research on this mission in the context of the PowerFuel project. A pilot plant developed by the KIT spin-off Ineratec uses renewable energy sources to convert carbon dioxide and hydrogen into synthetic natural gas, which can then be used to make liquid fuel. Initially, the pilot plant can produce 200l to 300l per day. The required CO2 is captured directly from air in a plant developed by the Zurich company Climeworks. 

“We urgently need CO2-free mobility,” comments Professor Roland Dittmeyer, Head of the Institute for Micro Process Engineering at the KIT in the press release. In addition, surplus renewable power can be stored in these synthetic fuels. Among others, Siemens and the German Aerospace Center are involved in the project. It is also supported by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy.

Climeworks was founded as a spin-off from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH). The company aims to be capturing 1 per cent of global CO2 emissions each year by 2025. Its technology is currently being tested in Hinwil ZH, Iceland and Italy.