Johnson Matthey plc (JM) and bp plc (both London) announced that EDL Anlagenbau Gesellschaft mbH (EDL) has selected their co-developed, award-winning Fischer Tropsch (FT) CANS technology for EDL’s HyKero plant located in Böhlen-Lippendorf, south of Leipzig, Germany.
The HyKero plant is planned to produce 50,000 metric tons (MT) of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) per year when fully operational, including eSAF from a power-to-liquids (PtL) route, and would be the first plant of its kind at commercial scale in Germany. The PtL route is the conversion of renewable electricity and carbon dioxide into sustainable liquid fuels. Current international certification for this SAF requires a blend of up to 50% with fossil kerosene to create drop-in SAF. Based on a typical widebody aircraft fuel consumption rate[1] travelling the distance from Frankfurt to New York, the HyKero plant’s planned SAF production capacity, after blending, is equivalent to the fuel required for over 1,000 transatlantic flights annually.
When fully operational, the HyKero plant is also planned to produce 14,000 MT of sustainable naphtha[2], and approximately 1,000 MT of electrolytic (green) hydrogen per year.
Strategically located to serve Leipzig-Halle international airport, this first phase of the plant is planned to be online by 2027. Project realisation and plant operations will be under the responsibility of EDL’s subsidiary XFuels HyKero GmbH. EDL anticipates a potential future phase could add 75,000 MT of eSAF capacity per year.
Alberto Giovanzana, Managing Director, CT Licensing at Johnson Matthey, said: “At JM we are committed to helping our customers decarbonise. We are therefore very excited that EDL has chosen our FT CANS technology, developed in collaboration with bp, to supply airlines with sustainable aviation fuel that can be used in their existing fleets. Projects like this are very important to increase the production of SAF as the industry works to achieve its net zero ambitions.”
Noemie Turner, VP Technology development & commercialisation at bp, said: “We are delighted that EDL has joined a growing number of businesses choosing our innovative FT CANS technology, developed through world-class research and development in partnership with Johnson Matthey, to enable commercial scale production of sustainable aviation fuels at EDL’s HyKero plant.”
Dr. Michael Haid, CEO at EDL and XFuels HyKero, said: “We are proud to use the FT CANS technology in our HyKero plant to produce eSAF, thus making an important contribution to the defossilization of the aviation sector in Germany. The FT CANS technology enhances the value of our HyKero plant for converting sustainable carbon sources like bio-methane, together with renewable power and carbon dioxide into eSAF. We look forward to working with Johnson Matthey and bp as we build out the HyKero plant portfolio in Germany and abroad.”