Research into the design, production and climate compatibility of future fuels
The German Aerospace Center (DLR) aims to accelerate the market ramp-up of electricity-based fuels in Europe through its Technology Platform for Power-to-Liquid fuels (TPP) in Leuna, Saxony-Anhalt. From today’s perspective, these synthetic Power-to-Liquid (PtL) fuels are indispensable for decarbonising medium- and long-haul flights.
The TPP will launch with an annual production capacity of 2500 tonnes of fuel, making it the first facility of this size to test full system integration. The platform is designed to enable the evaluation and comparison of different production routes, including required technologies and innovative components. Not everything that works in the lab can be directly applied in industrial settings and scales.
At the plant, DLR will produce fuels, conduct comprehensive evaluations of them and optimise their properties for commercial applications in aviation, maritime transport and heavy goods vehicles. The objective is not only to optimise the efficiency of electricity-based fuels but, above all, to enhance their climate compatibility. DLR studies have shown that synthetic sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs) can significantly reduce the ‘non-CO₂’ effects of aviation.
The interactive exhibit allows visitors to experiment with altering a fuel’s composition in detail and observing how these changes affect its properties and emissions during flight. The exhibit also illustrates how fuel design is informed by DLR’s extensive research into combustion behaviour and data collected by flight- and ground-based measurements.
The facility, which is funded by the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport (BMDV), is not reserved solely for DLR – it can also be used by industrial companies and research institutions from across Europe for their own projects. A number of initiatives are already in the planning phase. Fuel production is scheduled to commence in 2028.
Link:
German Aerospace Center (DLR)
Institute of Combustion Technology
E-Mail contact-dlr@DLR.de
