Norsk e-Fuel AS, a new industrial consortium based in Oslo, plans to build Europe's first commercial hydrogen-based aviation fuel plant in Norway. To do this, they want to industrialize power-to-liquid technology (PtL) for the European market.
The actors hope to find solutions “particularly for sectors that are difficult to electrify, such as the aviation industry” and to promote “a radical change towards climate-neutral transport”. Only “Norway’s extensive renewable electricity resources” would be used to produce the fuel. Location is Herøya, Porsgrunn.
The joint venture consists of four partners: Sunfire GmbH, provider of PtL technology; Climeworks AG, active in the field of CO2 air capture; Paul Wurth SA (SMS Group), provider of planning, development and engineering services (EPC) for the steel industry, and the green investment company Valinor, parent company of Norsk Vind, the largest private wind energy developer in Norway. “Together we combine the necessary corporate strength with the most advanced and efficient technologies to transform Norway’s extensive wind and hydropower resources into renewable fuels,” says Karl Hauptmeier, General Manager of Norsk e-Fuel.
The technologies from Sunfire and Climeworks are intended to be used in a one-stage co-electrolysis process to produce a synthesis gas using electricity from renewable energies, water and CO2, which is captured from the ambient air and unavoidable CO2 sources. Renewable fuels such as jet fuel would then be produced through further processing and refining, the companies said. “The certified end products can be used directly in existing infrastructures.”
The first plant with an annual production capacity of 10 million liters is scheduled to go into operation in 2023. Planning for the Herøya Industrial Park is already “in full swing”. This plant will be expanded to a capacity of 2026 million liters of renewable fuel by 100 and will then save 250 tons of CO000 emissions annually in the aviation industry. The scaled-up, industrial-sized facility will then serve as a blueprint for a nationwide rollout of the project. Locations have “already been identified”.
When fully operational, the Herøya facility will supply enough fuel for the five most important domestic air routes in Norway (Oslo-Trondheim, Oslo-Bergen, Oslo-Stavanger, Oslo-Tromso and Oslo-Bodo). “This would reduce current flight emissions between these cities by around 50 percent,” explains Lars Helge Helvig, founder of Valinor and chairman of Norsk Vind, in a statement.
Deep link:
https://www.norsk-e-fuel.com/en/
Photos:
© Norsk e-Fuel
