Kuehne+Nagel and Lufthansa Cargo have agreed on an exclusive partnership for the promotion and use of power-to-liquid aviation fuel. The logistics service providers have jointly committed to supporting the world’s first production site for synthetic crude oil in Werlte/Emsland in Germany by purchasing the equivalent of 20 tons, or 25,000 liters, annually. Synthetic fuel is considered to be the fuel of the future, which should further reduce the CO2 footprint of aircraft engines. The production site in Werlte is operated by the NGO atmosfair from Bonn.
“We clearly see the key to a sustainable reduction of our emissions in flight operations in the research and use of synthetic, sustainable aviation fuels. The fact that we are now pioneering power-to-liquid technology together with Kuehne+Nagel makes us particularly proud and shows once again that we are actively tackling our climate protection challenges,” explained Dorothea von Boxberg, CEO Lufthansa Cargo, on the strategic background to the partnership with Kuehne+Nagel.
Atmosfair, a non-profit climate protection organization based in Berlin, has built its own plant to produce so-called “syncrude”. Syncrude is the alternative to fossil crude oil produced by means of fluid coking, hydroprocessing, hydrotreating, and reblending. This crude oil is then refined into finished Jet A1 fuel for aircraft at the Heide refinery north of Hamburg, fed into the refinery’s total volume and delivered to Hamburg Airport. This first industrial plant is so far unique in Germany. Regular operation is planned by Atmosfair for the first quarter of 2022.
