Building e-Fuel Production in Europe by Creating Value from Biocarbon

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July 04, 2024

(INERATEC)  In a landmark move toward sustainable fuel solutions, SOLER and INERATEC announce their technology cooperation. The partners are planning to build an innovative biocarbon and e-Fuel production facility in southern France as the blueprint for following projects. This plant will avoid 100,000 tons of CO2 equivalent a year by leveraging the synthesis gas that is generated as a co-product of the biocarbon generated from wood residues using SOLER cutting-edge technology. In the INERATEC's advanced Power-to-Liquid plant the syngas will be used to produce carbon-neutral fuels. These fuels will be delivered to hard-to-abate mobility sectors including aviation, shipping, as well as road transport, marking a significant step in the holistic approach to achieving climate neutrality.

Leveraging synergies to maximize resource efficiency

This project has one major goal: maximize the resource efficiency in forestry by producing biocarbon and sustainable e-Fuels in combination with renewable energy. The partnership between SOLER and INERATEC exemplifies a seamless integration of complementary technologies, optimizing the conversion of forestry residues (and other biomass materials) into high-quality biocarbon and syngas into high-value e-Fuels. Fostering the operational experience from both companies, this project will lead to a robust blueprint for deploying biocarbon and Power-to-Liquid plants from Europe globally. 

The process begins with SOLER's cutting-edge pyrolysis technology transforming forestry residues from thinning operations into high-quality biocarbon while also generating clean syngas. In the Power-to-Liquid facility from INERATEC the purified syngas is then used to combine with hydrogen. INERATEC's role is the production of high-grade e-Fuels from the clean syngas of SOLER. By recycling water and process heat, this project stands out in particular, optimally harvesting resources. This synergy leads to a use of 95% of the biomass carbon, achieving maximum resource efficiency.