KIT and Sunfire Successfully Upgrade the Technology for the Carbon-neutral Production of Fuels in the Kopernikus P2X Project
Fuels like kerosene can be produced in a climate-friendly way from CO2, water and green electricity using Power-to-Liquid processes. Researchers from Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have already demonstrated this with systems in actual operation. Now, researchers working on the Kopernikus P2X project have succeeded for the first time in coupling – at an industrial 220-kilowatt scale – the highly efficient co-electrolysis process with fuel synthesis. The project is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).
In order to achieve its climate targets, Europe needs green alternatives for applications that do not easily lend themselves to electrification.
“The aviation sector in particular will rely on sustainably produced kerosene for the time being,” says Professor Roland Dittmeyer from KIT’s Institute for Micro Process Engineering (IMVT). “Synthetic fuels that are produced by means of power-to-liquid processes with CO2 from the atmosphere or biogenic sources, water, and green electricity are particularly suitable.”
Dittmeyer is the spokesperson for the Kopernikus P2X project and heads the corresponding research activities at KIT. The project has now reached an important technological milestone on the way to sustainable aviation fuel: For the first time in the world, the innovative, highly efficient water vapor/CO2 co-electrolysis technology from industrial partner Sunfire was coupled directly with a synthesis process at an industry-relevant scale (220 kilowatts of electrolysis output).
Co-Electrolysis Makes Power-to-Liquid More Efficient
For the production of synthetic kerosene at KIT’s Energy Lab, a multi-stage process distributed to modular facilities is used. First, syngas – a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide – is produced from CO2 and water. In principle, there are several ways to generate syngas. The new configuration uses a co-electrolysis module with an output of 220 kilowatts from industry partner Sunfire, which simplifies this process step and, above all, boosts its efficiency
“Co-electrolysis stands out in that it is a highly efficient process that electrochemically converts water vapor and CO2 directly into syngas in a single step. Up to 85 percent of the electrical energy used for this process can be recovered as chemical energy in the syngas. In addition, we could demonstrate with this coupling that our co-electrolysis method features a very high plant availability and reliability and has the potential to produce syngas with the desired quality at any time,” says Hubertus Richter, Senior Engineer R&D Project Management & Process Engineering at Sunfire. “This eliminates the traditionally separate hydrogen production process with downstream syngas production, significantly increasing the efficiency of the overall process for the production of synthetic fuels.”
Highly efficient co-electrolysis of industrial partner Sunfire in the world’s largest power-to-fuels process chain for the synthesis of fuels at KIT’s Energy Lab. (Photo: Amadeus Bramsiepe, KIT)
For the coupled operation of co-electrolysis and fuel synthesis, the syngas needs to be brought to reaction pressure. This job is done by a compressor with safety devices the researchers added to the process chain. In a microstructured reactor, the syngas is then converted to long-chain hydrocarbons – known as syncrude – using Fischer-Tropsch synthesis. These hydrocarbons can be used directly to produce fuels such as kerosene or other chemical products. Scientists at KIT developed this reactor technology, which is already being commercialized by INERATEC, a KIT spin-off. For the future, it is planned to use the heat released as vapor during synthesis for the co-electrolysis. This would further reduce the energy demand of the entire process and demonstrate that the product preparation to finally obtain kerosene is feasible at this scale. By combining these process steps, it is possible to fully utilize the carbon dioxide provided and achieve the highest possible energy conversion efficiency, as this process chain allows efficient recycling of material flows in addition to the energy flows.
The Next Step: A Tonne of Kerosene per Day
Researchers at KIT successfully tested the integration of co-electrolysis in campaign operation under real conditions, producing up to one hundred liters of syncrude per day. Coupled operation marks an important milestone in the second funding phase of the Kopernikus P2X project. The facility is now being expanded for a capacity of up to 300 liters syncrude per day. In the third and final funding phase, the research team has INERATEC additionally build a larger Fischer-Tropsch production facility in the Höchst Industrial Park near Frankfurt.
“For the first time, tonne-scale production will be realized there,” says Dittmeyer.
The product, which will eventually be processed into kerosene, will be used by aircraft engine manufacturers and research partners for testing. Accompanying analyses ensure that the fuel meets the strict aviation standards.
Modulare Syntheseanlage von INERATEC, einer Ausgründung aus dem KIT, in der
weltweit größten Power-to-Fuels Prozesskette zur Synthese von Kraftstoffen
am Energy Lab des KIT. (Foto: Amadeus Bramsiepe, KIT)
About the Kopernikus-Projekt P2X
About the Kopernikus Project P2X
In the Kopernikus project P2X, the partners Climeworks, Sunfire, INERATEC, and the Institute of Microprocess Engineering at KIT’s Energy Lab are building and operating an integrated process chain. Following the “power-to-fuel” concept, this allows for the production of CO2-neutral fuels, also known as e-fuels. The project is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). A total of 18 partners from industry, academia and civil society organizations are involved in the initiative.
Details about the KIT Energy Center
About Karlsruher Instituts für Technologie (KIT)
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.
Sunfire is a global leader in the production of industrial electrolyzers based on pressurized alkaline and solid oxide (SOEC) technologies. With its electrolysis solutions, Sunfire is addressing a key challenge of today’s energy system: Providing renewable hydrogen and syngas as climate-neutral substitutes for fossil energy. Sunfire’s innovative and proven electrolysis technology enables the transformation of carbon-intensive industries that are currently dependent on fossil-based oil, gas, or coal. The company employs more than 650 people located in Germany and Switzerland.
For more information visit www.sunfire.de
