INERATEC ERA ONE
Power-to-liquid plant at Frankfurt-Höchst that turns biogenic CO2 and by-product hydrogen into up to 2,500 tonnes a year of e-SAF, e-diesel and chemical feedstocks.
- Made by
- INERATEC
- From
- Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg
- Category
- Energy
- Introduced
- 2025
What it is
ERA ONE is INERATEC's first commercial-scale e-fuel plant, inaugurated in June 2025 at the Frankfurt-Höchst industrial park in Hesse after several weeks of initial operation. Trade press, including Aviation Week, described it at opening as Europe's largest power-to-liquid fuel plant so far. Its rated capacity is up to 2,500 tonnes of e-fuels per year, and it recycles roughly 8,000 tonnes of CO2 annually.
How it works
The plant combines carbon dioxide with green hydrogen to make synthesis gas, then converts it into a synthetic crude oil that can be refined into sustainable aviation fuel (e-SAF), e-diesel, waxes and base chemicals for plastics. The chemistry is built from compact, modular reactor units derived from research at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, which means capacity can be added in blocks rather than through one large new build. Clariant supplies its ShiftMax 100 RE catalyst for the process.
Why it stands out
The feedstock story is the detail most readers miss. ERA ONE does not rely on a dedicated electrolyser park or direct air capture. Its CO2 comes from a neighbouring biogas plant that processes waste, and its hydrogen is a by-product of chlorine production within the same chemical park. Sitting inside an existing industrial cluster cuts infrastructure cost and gives the plant feedstocks that are already flowing. Financing combined a 2024 Series B with a 70 million euro package from the European Investment Bank (venture debt) and Breakthrough Energy Catalyst (grant), plus support from Germany's Environmental Innovation Programme.
Where you meet it
Mainly in aviation. EU ReFuelEU Aviation rules set rising minimum shares of synthetic fuel from 2030, and ERA ONE's output is aimed squarely at that demand. INERATEC has said it intends to raise output several times over by 2030 by adding modules. For context, 2,500 tonnes is roughly 825,000 US gallons, meaningful as proof of process but a small fraction of a single large airport's fuel use.
Sources
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Last reviewed 4 November 2026. Main source: www.chemengonline.com/ineratec-begins-production-at-europes-. Suggest a correction.