German e-kerosene pilot plant faces major setbacks
The green aviation fuel pioneer Atmosfair has reported persistent technical challenges at its power-to-liquid (PTL) pilot plant in Werlte, northern Germany. Four years after its launch, the facility has produced only 5 t of synthetic crude kerosene - far short of its 300 t annual target.
Despite changes to feedstock and system upgrades, the plant is still strugglinmg to maintain stable operations, with crude product often failing refinery specifications. Atmosfair is now evaluating legal action against its technology provider or a possible switch to gas-to-liquid (GTL) technology.
While setbacks persist in Germany, Atmosfair has ascertained promising results from its biomass-to-liquid (BTL) test site in Vienna and is exploring scale-up opportunities in developing countries. (ah)