INERATEC, a leading sustainable e-Fuel producer, secured a €40 million venture debt loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB) and a €30 million grant from Breakthrough Energy Catalyst. This €70 million will go toward building Europe’s largest green e-Fuel production facility in Frankfurt and supporting critical research on aviation decarbonization.

Major Investment to Accelerate e-Fuel Production

In Luxembourg, at the EIB-Group-Forum, officials announced new funding, pointing towards the potential of e-Fuels to decarbonize hard-to-abate sectors like air transport. The funding will help INERATEC increase manufacturing capacity and accelerate commercialization of its Power-to-Liquid technology. Power-to-Liquid technology converts green hydrogen and CO2 into synthetic aviation fuel, a step closer to a carbon-neutral world.

Shaping Energy Production with Power-to-Liquid Technology

INERATEC’s production process employs hydrogen mixed with CO2 sourced from biogenic origins, such as industrial waste or biogas facilities. The process converts material into synthetic crude oil, which is subsequently processed into clean sustainable fuels in the form of SAF, marine fuel, and e-Diesel.The process reduces the overall carbon footprint of the produced fuels by using CO2 that would otherwise be emitted into the environment.

The Frankfurt plant will employ CO2 from a local biogas plant as well as hydrogen from a nearby factory that produces chlorine. This, in addition to being sustainable, enables scalable and flexible production in INERATEC’s versatile modular units.

Addressing Market Demand through Scalable Solutions

INERATEC has already proven its technology at pilot and demonstration plant scales and now concentrates on upscaling production to address the increasing market demand. The new capital will enable INERATEC to provide commercial-scale production, providing a reliable supply of e-Fuels to industries requiring sustainable energy solutions. The plant will have the capacity to produce up to 2,500 tons of e-Fuel per year, mainly for the aviation industry.

The possible influence is considerable. An intercontinental flight from Frankfurt to New York uses approximately 80 tons of fossil kerosene for the trip. INERATEC’s e-SAF can replace fossil kerosene in routes like this, at least partially or entirely, and make air travel more environmentally friendly.

The European Union’s ReFuelEU Aviation regulation that obliges airlines to use at least 1.2% e-SAF by 2030 is creating additional prospects in the market of e-Fuel.

Also read: EIB and Breakthrough Energy Invest €70 Million in INERATEC’s E-Fuel Plant

INERATEC’s collaboration with Breakthrough Energy Catalyst underscores the significance of public-private collaborations in driving the clean energy transition. The EU’s InvestEU programme, supported by the EU Emissions Trading System, funds INERATEC, propelling clean energy technology like hydrogen production.

Nicola Beer, EIB Vice-President, stated that the EIB is committed to fostering a competitive net-zero economy, particularly in hard-to-decarbonize sectors like aviation. She explained that through partnerships like the EU-Breakthrough Catalyst initiative, they are supporting the green transition for transport and helping to make e-Fuel prices more affordable.

The EIB also supports clean energy technologies, including hydrogen electrolysis projects, like the one with Dresden’s Sunfire start-up. INERATEC and Sunfire collaborated in 2019 to showcase producing e-Fuels sustainably from air-captured CO2 and solar energy.

Suzlon has secured its third order with Jindal Green Wind 1 Pvt. Ltd., part of Jindal Renewables, for a huge 204.75 MW wind power project. The agreement is another major landmark in Suzlon’s endeavors towards developing green energy solutions in India’s steel sector, leading to further propulsion of the Low CO2 Steel revolution. The aggregate capacity of this order has also positioned it as Suzlon’s biggest Commercial & Industrial (C&I) order, with a total capacity for Jindal Renewables of 907.20 MW.

Increasing Wind Energy Capacity for Steel Plants

Under the new order, Suzlon will provide 65 high-capacity S144 wind turbine generators (WTGs) with Hybrid Lattice Towers (HLT), each of 3.15 MW rating. The Chhattisgarh and Odisha steel plants will directly use the power generated, which is essential for Jindal Steel’s operations in these strategic locations. This project will help make these plants more sustainable and play an important role in India’s overall green energy shift.

Girish Tanti, Vice Chairman of Suzlon Group,highlighted the importance of advancing India’s steel decarbonization through the strengthened partnership with Jindal Renewables. He noted that, following their initial successes in Karnataka, they are now expanding the Low CO2 Steel movement to Tamil Nadu, a leader in wind energy. He emphasized that together, they are reshaping the future of sustainable industrial growth in India.

Also read: Suzlon Secures Repeat Order of 201.6 MW from Oyster Renewable

Suzlon’s Growing Presence in the C&I Sector

This third order adds to Suzlon’s expanding portfolio of orders for Jindal Steel, which also includes two previous projects in Chhattisgarh and Odisha, totaling 702.45 MW of wind energy capacity. Currently, C&I customers account for 59% of Suzlon’s total order book, which has reached a record 5.9 GW—the highest in the company’s history.