CAC ENGINEERING and the TU Bergakademie Freiberg are commissioning Germany's most advanced and largest pilot plant for the production of climate-neutral methanol-based jet fuel.
Chemnitz/Freiberg, 15.05.2025 - Together with other partners, CAC ENGINEERING and the TU Bergakademie Freiberg have taken another important step in the development of synthetic jet fuel. In April 2025, they commissioned a pilot plant in Freiberg, an important step towards a large-scale plant. The first litres of the environmentally friendly jet fuel have already been produced. The aim is to successively optimise and further develop the technology in order to build Germany's first large-scale industrial and commercial plant using the methanol-to-jet fuel production route in four to six years. The plant at the Institute of Energy Process Engineering and Chemical Engineering (IEC) in Freiberg is part of the so-called EwOPro research project with the objective of developing the olefins-to-jet fuel process as a highly innovative stage in the production of jet fuel from renewable methanol. EwOPro is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection (BMWK), which now operates under the name of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, and coordinated by Project Management Jülich (PTJ).
The EwOPro project is a continuation of the successful KEROSyN100 project and will be funded until summer 2026. The focus is on the development of sustainable, synthetic fuels for the aviation industry (Sustainable Aviation Fuels, SAF), which are intended to replace fossil jet fuels proportionally and, in the long term, completely. The EwOPro project focuses on the olefins-to-jet fuel process as the centrepiece of the methanol-to-jet fuel route. "The scaling-up step represents a milestone in closing the carbon cycle," says Martin Gräbner, Professor of Energy Process Engineering at IEC. "The results of the pilot plant form the basis for industrial application and thus enable a significant contribution to climate neutrality in the near future." And Prof. Sven Kureti, Chair of Reaction Engineering, adds: "I am delighted that our catalyst research can continue to develop towards technical application with the pilot plant that has been set up."
Competitive market and vision for the future
The airlines within the International Air Transport Association (IATA) have set themselves the goal of achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. There is no alternative to liquid aviation fuels, as they have to provide a high energy density for long-haul flights in order to cover such distances. The first producers are already offering synthetic fuels based on biofuels or Fischer-Tropsch technology, but global capacities are still limited. eSAF technologies capitalizing the methanol route are highly efficient thanks to a high product yield with low energy requirements.
"With our patented METHAJET® technology, we are creating a sustainable alternative to fossil jet fuel. At the same time, we strengthen the value creation in Germany and Europe," explains Jörg Engelmann, Managing Director of CAC ENGINEERING. "In contrast to conventional processes such as Fischer-Tropsch, methanol can be produced at energy-favoured locations and transported efficiently as a liquid energy source. The final processing can take place both at these favourable locations and at European locations with the appropriate infrastructure." The Chemnitz-based engineering service provider coordinates the project and licenses the technology. For large-scale plant construction CAC has already successfully brought the innovative technology for the production of synthetic, climate-neutral gasoline (CAC METHAFUEL®) to market maturity and is currently planning Germany's first commercial gasoline synthesis plant.
Strong partnerships for innovative technologies
In addition to TU Bergakademie Freiberg, the funded project partners include DBI Gas- und Umwelttechnik GmbH and the Fraunhofer Institute for Ceramic Technologies and Systems (Fraunhofer IKTS). Associated partners from industry and politics are contributing to the practical application and market launch.
Next steps
The first jet fuel samples for the certification process are to be submitted to the international standardisation organisation ASTM in 2026. A very successful pre-screening took already place in 2024 as part of the KEROSyN100 research project.
A first industrial and commercial production plant with an annual capacity of 10,000 tonnes per year is expected to go into operation as early as 2030, taking into account an expected construction period of around three years.
E-fuels are liquid fuels produced synthetically using renewable electricity that can be used to power cars, trucks, aircrafts, ships and heating systems in a climate-friendly way. If e-fuels are used in their pure form, CO2 emissions can be reduced by up to 90% compared to fossil fuels. In addition, e-fuels can be made available nationwide via existing tank storage capacities and gasoline station networks and can be stored and transported easily.
Another advantage of methanol-based e-fuel processes is that the methanol can be produced at locations where renewable electricity is available in abundance as a key "raw material" and is therefore cheap. This ensures that large quantities of renewable energies can be imported to Germany and Europe as liquid energy sources to sustainably cover energy and feedstock requirements in the long term.
Reliable, experienced and human, CAC is a leading international company for plant engineering in process engineering and process technology and has been successful since 2008 with its own technologies and expertise in sustainable Power-to-X solutions. With the support of the TU Bergakademie Freiberg, they have built Europe's largest demonstration plant to produce synthetic gasoline at the Institute of Energy Process Engineering and Chemical Engineering in Freiberg and are currently planning the implementation of Germany's first gasoline synthesis plant.
With around 350 employees, 300 at the company headquarters in Chemnitz, CAC has built over 500 industrial plants worldwide in more than 60 years.
Students at the TU Bergakademie Freiberg benefit from current, application-oriented research: in degree programmes such as Process Engineering and Chemical Engineering (Diploma) or Engineering (Bachelor), they learn, for example, how to produce sustainable fuel from agricultural residues. They can apply their knowledge in practice at the university's unique demonstration plants. This makes graduates sought-after experts in economical and climate-neutral conversion technologies. Many go on to work in industry and contribute their knowledge to companies such as CAC to drive forward the technologies of the future.