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The future of renewable fuels and their significance for climate protection

“Today, Germany is already an international leader in innovative production technologies for renewable fuels. We want to increase the competitiveness of e-fuels and advanced biofuels. Therefore, the Federal Ministry of Digital and Transport (BMDV) promotes the further development and market ramp-up of renewable fuels with the overall concept of renewable fuels,” said Oliver Luksic at #BioPtX23 in Berlin two days ago The first professional conference on renewable fuels in Germany, organized by NOW GmbH.

Oliver Luksic
Oliver Luksic

The Federal Ministry of Digital and Transport’s overall concept for renewable fuels includes four funding measures that support both the further development and market ramp-up of renewable fuels. We pursue a technology-neutral and cross-modal approach.

We need renewable fuels to achieve climate protection goals in transportation.

Uta Maria Pfeiffer

Uta Maria Pfeiffer, Head of Mobility and Logistics Division, Federation of German Industries, says: Fuel switching is our biggest and most important lever. If we want to achieve climate goals, it must happen!

Overall concept:

The German government has set binding greenhouse gas emission reductions in the Federal Climate Protection Act. To achieve this, transportation must make a significant contribution. In 2030, the transport sector may only emit 85 million tonnes of CO2, which corresponds to a reduction of 48% compared to 1990. To achieve this goal, renewable fuels play a crucial role because not every application in transportation can be electrified.

A cross-modal and technology-neutral concept

Our current transportation is diverse. Due to different usage requirements in passenger and freight transport, various propulsion technologies and fuel types will also be needed in the future. In addition to the widespread market ramp-up of electromobility, renewable fuels – especially electricity-based fuels such as hydrogen and e-fuels, as well as advanced biofuels from waste and residues – will play an important role in replacing fossil fuels in the long term. The Federal Ministry of Digital and Transport (BMDV) promotes renewable fuels with a technology-neutral and cross-modal overall concept, which is flanked by regulatory measures of the federal government.

What does the overall concept of renewable fuels look like?

The BMDV addresses the technical challenges of market entry and plant scaling with the support of development and demonstration projects: on the one hand, in the form of a technology-neutral funding guideline for the development of renewable fuels (pillar I) and, on the other hand, with the promotion of the establishment and operation of a development platform for electricity-based liquid fuels for air and maritime transport (pillar II). To address the economic barriers to the market ramp-up of renewable fuels, the BMDV is currently developing two funding measures. One funding guideline will support investments in renewable fuel production plants (pillar III). Another funding measure will promote the market ramp-up of electricity-based kerosene (pillar IV). The aim is to strengthen Germany’s technological leadership in this area.

Why do we need the overall concept of renewable fuels?

The electrification of transport with the help of batteries or hydrogen fuel cells will make an important contribution to climate neutrality. However, the application possibilities of these technologies are limited – air, heavy-duty, and maritime transport will be particularly dependent on liquid fuels on long distances due to their high energy requirements. To make these transportation applications climate-neutral, the use of renewable fuels is essential in the long term. From the BMDV’s perspective, electricity-based fuels and advanced biofuels from waste and residues are preferably suitable for this purpose. However, the use of renewable fuels is not yet competitive due to technical, economic, and regulatory barriers. The BMDV’s overall concept of renewable fuels helps to overcome these barriers.

Together we will succeed in making renewable fuels make an even greater contribution to achieving climate goals.

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Two eCCU pilot plants at one site

A raving success: Trilateral Online Workshop eCCU3 on Carbon Capture and Electrochemical Utilization of CO2 counts 424 participants from all over the world

Without a strong contribution from all economic sectors the net-zero climate protection targets cannot be achieved. Fossil feedstock for the chemical industry and fossil fuels for long-distance transport must be substituted. Therefore, the reduction of CO₂ emissions by carbon capture and utilization (CCU) and an intersectoral carbon cycle economy will be crucial for the transformation of the supply systems in the future.

Benefits of lectrochemical synthesis technologies

Very promising are electrochemical synthesis technologies (eCCU) to produce fuels and base chemicals from renewable electricity and captured CO₂ as they can simplify process chains, reduce components and avoid high temperatures and pressures. In contradiction, the conventional thermo-chemical synthesis routes based on CO₂ and electrolytically produced H2 typically require temperatures >300°C and pressures >20bar for the reverse water-gas-shift reaction and consecutive process steps. Additionally, eCCU reduces the need for a H2 infrastructure, lowers greenhouse gas emissions and offers security of supply and grid stability in an energy scenario relying heavily on renewable power generation.

eCCU3 Workshop

For the economic viability it is a great advantage to couple the cathodic CO₂ reduction with a suitable oxidation reaction at the anode in order to avoid the formation of oxygen which normally cannot be utilized and would then be released to the atmosphere. Coupling of oxidative and reductive electrosynthesis processes is a key to improve efficiency while reducing costs, wastes and emissions.

eCCU3 Workshop

Introducing the OCEAN project

That is exactly what is now demonstrated as part of the European Horizon 2020-funded project OCEAN (No. 767798; www.spire2030.eu/ocean) at RWE’s Innovation Center at Niederaussem, Germany.

The process was engineered by Avantium, a leading technology company in renewable chemistry from the Netherlands, and the 6 kWel unit was constructed by the Italian engineering company Hysytech. Potassium formate is produced simultaneously at both electrodes of the electrochemical cell, cathode and anode. At the anode, glycerol – a by-product of the biodiesel production – is the feedstock and at the cathode CO₂ is converted. In consecutive processes, oxalic acid can be produced from the formate as an intermediate for high-value specialty chemicals.

E-fuels will be needed in applications where the poor energy density of batteries or hydrogen is prohibitive (e.g. aviation and long-haul transportation by truck and ship). E-fuels like alcohols and hydrocarbons offer a way to store and transport chemical energy effectively with a high density at a large scale and for long periods of time.

eCCU3 Workshop

From LOTER.CO2M to ECO2Fuel

E-fuels allow to use the existing supply system and infrastructure and could defossilize the existing vehicle fleet. The project LOTER.CO2M (No. 761093; www.loterco2m.eu) has developed advanced low-cost electro-catalysts for the direct electrochemical reduction of CO₂ to methanol and other important industrial feedstocks, like ethanol and ethylene.

The developed electrochemical synthesis system works without the use of critical raw materials. A containerized 5 kWel demonstrator of the low-temperature and low-pressure CO₂-H2O co-electrolysis has been manufactured by the Belgian technology developer VITO. The LOTER.CO2M technology builds the basis for the follow-up project ECO2Fuel (No. 101037389) which aims at the realization of the worldwide first low-temperature 1 MW direct, electrochemical CO₂ conversion system to produce sustainable liquid e-fuels (C1-C4 alcohols) under industrially relevant conditions.

International Energy Agency
International Energy Agency

Klick here to download the full press release

The OCEAN and LOTER.CO2M units are fed by CO₂ that is captured by RWE’s amine-based post-combustion capture pilot plant. It’s operated 24/7 by the team on site. In the ongoing test program, the performance of the technology is assessed. The operational behavior during startup, ramp up/down cycles, operational parameter variations and continuous full-load operation are evaluated. Both projects have received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the grant agreements No 767798 (OCEAN) and 761093 (LOTER.CO2M).

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eCCU3 – A Trilateral Online Workshop on Carbon Capture & Electrochemical CO2 Utilization

Carbon Capture and electrochemical Utilization of CO2 – From research to industrial application

Without a substantial contribution from all economic sectors the net-zero climate protection targets cannot be achieved. Fossil feedstock for the chemical industry and fossil fuels for long-distance transport must be substituted. Therefore, the reduction of CO2 emissions by carbon capture and utilisation (CCU) and an intersectoral carbon cycle economy will be crucial in the transformation of the future supply systems. Very promising are electrochemical synthesis technologies to produce fuels and base chemicals from water, renewable electricity, and captured CO2 as they avoid the effort of high synthesis temperatures and pressures.

In contradiction, the conventional thermochemical synthesis routes based on CO2 and electrolytically produced H2 typically require temperatures >300°C and pressures >20bar for the reverse-water gas-shift reaction and consecutive reaction steps. Additionally, eCCU reduces the need for a H2 infrastructure and the coupling of renewable power generation and carbon utilisation offers carbon-neutral chemicals and fuels, security of supply, grid stability, and emission reduction. 

Twenty-two partners from nine countries representing industry, research institutes, and universities are advancing the electrochemical CO2 utilisation in the three European-funded projects LOTER.CO2M, ECO2Fuel and OCEAN by demonstrating the complete technology chains at RWE’s Innovation Center at Niederaussem, comprising post-combustion CO2 capture and its utilisation in the electrochemical synthesis units of:

Critical Raw Material-free Low-Temperature Electrochemical Reduction of CO2 to Methanol The 5 kW demonstrator of LOTER.CO2M uses advanced, low-cost electrocatalysts and membranes for the direct electrochemical reduction of CO2 to methanol and ethanol by low-temperature CO2-H2O co-electrolysis. LOTER.CO2M passes the baton on to the follow-up project ECO2Fuel.

Large-scale low-temperature electrochemical CO2 Conversion to sustainable liquid fuels ECO2Fuel aims to design, manufacture, operate, and validate the worldwide first low-temperature 1 MW direct, electrochemical CO2 conversion system to produce sustainable liquid e-fuels (C1-C4 alcohols) under industrially relevant conditions.

Oxalic acid from CO2 using electrochemistry at demonstration scale The 6 kW unit of OCEAN demonstrates an innovative tandem electro-synthesis: Potassium formate is produced simultaneously at both electrodes of the electrochemical cell, cathode and anode. At the anode, glycerol – a by-product of the biodiesel production – is the resource. At the cathode CO2 is the feedstock. In consecutive processes oxalic acid can be produced from the formate.

The eCCU3 Workshop brings together the international experts from the three European demonstration projects, scientists from various research fields, and the public. It will provide a broad overview of the progress and potential of eCCU. The attendees can follow six presentations on all aspects of electrochemical CO2 utilisation and have the opportunity to discuss the status and prospects of the technology.

The three projects have received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the grant agreements No 767798 (OCEAN), 761093 (LOTER.CO2M) and 101037389 (ECO2Fuel).

The ECO2Fuel project will therefore consolidate the EU’s first-mover advantage in the green technology sector and strengthen its competitiveness with an innovative and disruptive technology to meet its emission targets by 2050.

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The future of industrial scale production of carbon-neutral fuels and chemicals

The radical reduction of greenhouse gas emissions will require actions in all sectors that are inherently different and difficult, asking for an almost total re-thinking of our day-to-day energy management. This is how LOTER.CO2M was born.

Droughts and wildfires, freshwater shortages, floods, pests and invasive species, food and water wars, and climate migration are just some of the threats we face today with climate change in Europe.

As a forerunner in environmental protection worldwide, the European Union attempts to pull the plug on global warming with its many initiatives, especially the Green Deal. With its 2030 Climate Target Plan under the Green Deal, the European Commission proposes raising the EU’s ambition to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to at least 55% below 1990 levels by 2030.

However, this radical reduction of greenhouse gas emissions will require actions in all sectors that are inherently different and difficult, asking for an almost total re-thinking of our day-to-day energy management. This increases the hurdle to achieving efficient decarbonisation cost-effectively on time. And while it is true that a green carbon-neutral future isn’t achievable without implementing significant changes, we need to have low-threshold solutions allowing us to kickstart the transition without larger sacrifices to our everyday life quality.

With this in mind, we initiated LOTER.CO2M (This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 under the Grant Agreement number 761093) in 2018 attempting to convert CO2 with renewable electricity and water into carbon-neutral fuels and value-added chemicals in a single step without the need for hydrogen.

By doing this we replace the fossil carbon in fuels and critical chemicals with renewable, recycled carbon from CO2 and ease the transition to a carbon-neutral future without any compromises.

In three years of intensive research and development with partners from the industry (RWE, Bekaert, JohnsonMatthey EWII, and research organisations DLR, CNR, VITO, UVP and DTU) we developed critical raw material free catalysts, membranes, stack and a functioning 5kW CO2 electrolyzer and raised the technological readiness level from three to five.

Today, the electroylzer is operated at RWE in Niederaußem with waste CO2 and renewable electricity to efficiently generate carbon-neutral fuels (mainly carbon monoxide, methane, and ethylene).

Following this success story aiming to further our contribution to the EU’s climate target plan, we head out to upscale the LOTER.CO2M technology to build the world’s first direct CO2 electrolyzer at a 1MW scale and received the support of the European Union. As of October 2021, experts from 15 international organizations from industry and research are working together in the ECO2Fuel project to lift the LOTER.CO2M’s technology readiness level from 5 to 7 and push it toward commercialization for a greener and fossil fuel independent future.

The 1MW ECO2Fuel CO2 electrolyzer will convert 229 tons of CO2 to carbon-neutral fuels and chemicals considering a direct connection to renewable energy sources with an operation time of 2701 hours/year, which translates to converting 85kg of CO2 per hour.

The ECO2Fuel project will therefore consolidate the EU’s first-mover advantage in the green technology sector and strengthen its competitiveness with an innovative and disruptive technology to meet its emission targets by 2050.

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Building a low-carbon, climate-resilient future

The European Union aims to develop solutions that will assure the carbon neutrality and climate resilience of Europe and to contribute substantially to similar achievements in neighbouring and developing countries in the second half of the century. This very ambitious goal requires a highly integrated approach through the multiple angles of society, economy, technology, industrial value chains and environment, health, land use and governance.

In ECO2Fuel, 15 international partners from the chemical, energy, hydrogen, mechanical engineering and automotive industry, and several research institutions set out to contribute to this goal by building the worldwide first CO2 conversion system to convert 742 tons of CO2 per year into economic and sustainable liquid e-fuels and chemicals. This will be achieved via a novel low temperature, single-step, and critical-raw material free electrochemical route that was developed in the European funded LOTER.CO2M project.

With this, ECO2Fuel aims to contribute to the EU goals in shaping a green future and counteract man-made climate change.

The project aims to demonstrate the potential of this technology on an industrial scale and secure Europe’s lead in the global race for the development of carbon dioxide recovery technologies. “With the international consortium of ECO2Fuel from Germany, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Denmark, Israel, Greece and the Netherlands, we will be driving the electrochemical CO2 reduction towards commercialization in the coming five years, assuring the leading position of the EU in developing green technologies for a brighter future”, says Dr. Schwan Hosseiny, Project Coordinator and Scientist at DLR.