A German startup wants to help cut carbon emissions in the mobility sector and is relying on the expertise of MAN Energy Solutions in Deggendorf to achieve its objective.
The modern world would be inconceivable without mobility. But it is precisely this mobility that is hurting our environment. Planes, ships and motor vehicles belch out more than 9,100 million metric tons of CO2 a year, contributing to climate change. CAPHENIA, a young German company, has set itself the goal of shaping the carbon-neutral future of the mobility sector with sustainable fuels at competitive prices. A globally patented Power-and-Biogas-to-Liquid (PBtL) process will be used to achieve this by converting CO2 and biogas into renewable synthetic fuels with sustainably generated electricity. The plan is to use the synthesis gas produced in this way to manufacture Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) and so contribute to the decarbonization of aviation. ‘GERMANY I’, CAPHENIA’s first production plant, is scheduled to go into operation in Frankfurt am Main’s Industriepark Höchst by the end of this year and produce the first renewable fuels from 2025 onwards.
Much lower electricity consumption
At the heart of the plant is what is called a Plasma Boudouard Reactor, which is being developed and built in Deggendorf. “This reactor splits biomethane into hydrogen and carbon as the first step in the process. Synthesis gas is then formed through the addition of CO2 and water. The reactor can produce 150 kg of synthesis gas an hour. A further process can then be used to turn the synthesis gas into Sustainable Aviation Fuel,” says Christian Schuhbauer, Head of New Technologies in Deggendorf, describing the process. What is special about this process is that it requires much less electricity than conventional processes for producing synthesis gas. Thanks to this efficiency, the fuels produced can be offered at competitive prices.
“We’re proud to be able to contribute the reactor technology for this innovative project and use our extensive expertise in the production of renewable fuels. We’re convinced that synthetic fuels will be unavoidable in the decarbonization of all those sectors where direct electrification with batteries, for example, is out of
the question,” says Norbert Anger,
Deggendorf’s Head of Site.
We’re convinced that synthetic fuels will be unavoidable in the decarbonization of all those sectors where direct electrification with batteries, for example, is out of the question.
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