InnoFuels beim Fachkongress „Kraftstoffe der Zukunft 2026“

Forschung trifft Umsetzung
InnoFuels-Stand KIT
Vortrag Olaf Toedter KIT
Lecture given by Dr. Olaf Toedter (IKFM, KIT)
Vortrag Franziska Müller-Langer DBFZ
Lecture given by Dr. Franziska Müller-Langer (DBFZ)

Der 23. Internationale Fachkongress „Kraftstoffe der Zukunft 2026“  ist am 20. Januar in Berlin erfolgreich zu Ende gegangen. Über 620 Teilnehmende aus Politik, Wirtschaft, Wissenschaft und Verbänden diskutierten an zwei intensiven Konferenztagen die Rolle erneuerbarer Kraftstoffe für eine klimaneutrale Mobilität und die notwendigen politischen sowie regulatorischen Weichenstellungen für den Markthochlauf.

Der Kongress bestätigte eindrucksvoll: Die Technologien für erneuerbare und klimaneutrale Kraftstoffe sind verfügbar und praxiserprobt – entscheidend sind nun verlässliche, langfristige Rahmenbedingungen.

Starke Präsenz des InnoFuels-Teams

InnoFuels war auf dem Kongress mit mehreren  hochkarätigen Beiträgen vertreten und brachte seine wissenschaftliche und systemische Expertise gezielt in den Dialog zwischen Forschung, Industrie und Politik ein:

Zum Beispiel mit dem Fachvortrag mit dem Titel "Der reFuels-Ansatz von der Forschung zur industriellen Praxis" von Prof. Nicolaus Dahmen und Dr. Olaf Toedter (beide KIT). Der Beitrag stellte zentrale Ergebnisse und Zusammenhänge der thematisch eng verzahnten Projekte InnoFuels, REF4FU und reFuels vor. Im Fokus standen:

  • reFuels als akademisch-industrielles Kooperationsprojekt,
  • der Weg von reFuels von der Forschung zur Demonstrationsanlage,
  • sowie der aktuelle Stand der Umsetzung.

Der Vortrag zeigte eindrucksvoll, wie das enge Zusammenspiel von Forschung und Industrie dazu beiträgt, innovative Kraftstofflösungen gezielt in die Anwendung zu bringen.

Darüber hinaus setzte Dr. Franziska Müller-Langer (DBFZ) mit ihrem Impulsvortrag „Factor 10 by 2050 – Renewable fuels between aspiration and reality“ wichtige inhaltliche Akzente. Sie beleuchtete die Spannungsfelder zwischen langfristigen Klimazielen, technologischen Möglichkeiten und realen Rahmenbedingungen. Zudem moderierte sie die Session „The long road to e-fuels: success and challenges“ und förderte damit einen offenen fachlichen Austausch zu Chancen und Herausforderungen synthetischer Kraftstoffe. Weitere Beiträge aus dem InnoFuels-Team kamen von Torsten Schwab (International PtX Hub) und Michaela Unteutsch (Frontier Economics).

Table of contents

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20 years of bioliq® – From straw to innovation

Interview
Bioliqanlage

Twenty years ago, one of the most ambitious projects for the production of synthetic fuels from residual biomass was launched: bioliq® has set standards, mastered challenges and achieved important milestones. In this interview, project manager Prof. Nicolaus Dahmen looks back on the history and current relevance of the project.

Prof. Dahmen, when you look back on over two decades of bioliq today: What does this project mean to you personally?
The bioliq project means a lot to me personally. It was a special experience to be able to accompany the entire process - from the conception, acquisition of funds, construction and commissioning through to the phase in which everything worked and results became visible. Bioliq stands for much more than just a plant - it was embedded in a research network with which we were able to really advance the topic. That's why I look back with more laughter than tears.
Tell us about how the idea for the project came about - back in the late 1990s in the so-called "Strohkränzchen" - and what the original motivation was!
Back then, climate change wasn't so much of a priority. It was mainly about security of supply and more independence in energy supply. It soon became clear that first-generation biofuels, such as bioethanol and biodiesel, would never be sufficient to meet demand in the transportation sector. We still use these fuels as an admixture today, but only to a limited extent. In the "Strohkränzchen" project, we therefore took a systematic look: What residual materials that are not in competition with food production actually exist and in what quantities are they available. And the result was clear: yes, there is considerable potential. And this led to the idea for the bioliq process.
Many years passed between the ground-breaking ceremony for the bioliq plant in 2005 and the first finished petrol in 2017. What were the biggest hurdles - and successes?
Yes, that sounds like a long time - and it was. But there are two main reasons for this. Firstly, the funding for the individual plant components was approved in several successive applications. Each application had to be developed, submitted and approved - which inevitably led to a time lag. In addition, each of these plants in the bioliq process chain - from fast pyrolysis through synthesis gas production and purification to fuel synthesis - had to be tested and commissioned individually before the overall system could be operated on a continuous basis. Commissioning such pilot plants always involves a great deal of effort. Although the bioliq pilot plant is large, it is not an industrial production plant, but a complex research setup. We have implemented processes on a pilot scale that no one had ever operated in this form before. Many things worked in the laboratory - but you inevitably learn as you scale up. And this learning curve takes time. The fact that in the end we really succeeded in producing a high-quality fuel from straw was a great success - conceptually, technically and organizationally.
Why was petrol of all things chosen as the end product - and not diesel or kerosene?
The original plan was only to use the resulting synthesis gas. But they wanted to create a tangible end product - also to evaluate the product's suitability for everyday use. Gasoline was chosen because there was still great potential for development in the field of modern gasoline engines at the time, for example in the area of high-pressure direct injection, which cannot be easily achieved with conventional gasoline. This requires a particularly high-quality synthetic gasoline - and that is exactly what we wanted to supply.
Bioliq is also an example of successful accompanying research. How do you explain the large number of research projects that have emerged from it?
I think a key success factor was the location of the project at KIT. This is where university teaching and large-scale research by the Helmholtz Association meet - this creates ideal conditions for interdisciplinary collaboration. The proximity of the researchers to the facility made many things easier: it was comparatively easy to set up thematically appropriate funding projects, to attract students for final theses or to inspire doctoral students. The environment was just right - and looking back, it is clear how fruitful this was.
What will it take for technologies like Bioliq to be implemented on a large scale in the future? And why did this successful project have to end anyway?
A viable business model is crucial for any commercial technology - including bioliq. Initially, there was still a tax exemption for biofuels, which expired in 2015. From then on, the road became much rockier. Nevertheless, we continued the project as the process chain had not yet been fully developed and demonstrated. However, recycling strategies investigated in parallel showed that commercial implementation of the process would not be economical under the current framework conditions. Operations were therefore discontinued at the end of 2024 and the project was completed. However, research into the underlying key technologies will continue on a smaller scale in the Carbon Cycle Lab of the Energy Lab at KIT.
Bioliq-Abschlusskolloquium am 9. April am KIT
Ceremonial final colloquium on 09 April 2025 at the KIT North Campus
Bioliq-Prozess KIT
Four-step bioliq® process
Hinweis auf Publikationen zum Bioliq-Projekt
https://www.bioliq.de/202.php

Networking for success: methanol-based fuels in the workshop

Debriefing

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On April 2, 2025, the symposium "Methanol-based fuels" took place at DECHEMA House in Frankfurt am Main, organized by the "Production" team of the InnoFuels innovation platform. Experts from science and industry came together to discuss the current status of methanol-based fuels and the associated challenges. Incidentally, the idea for this came about almost two years ago during the BMDV Renewable Fuels Conference, when the funding decisions for the twelve projects in the funding line of the same name were presented. As several projects are working intensively on methanol-based fuel paths and their possible applications, an in-depth exchange was the obvious choice. InnoFuels has now taken up this impulse with the symposium.

In addition to specialist presentations on the ongoing projects, the subsequent workshop discussed specific approaches on how the development of methanol-based fuels can be accelerated and driven forward. Key topics included the provision of renewable methanol and the processing of methanol into fuels, new business models for a successful market launch and research questions on further technological development.

The sharing of expertise and cooperation in the working groups proved to be extremely enriching for all participants. It has become clear that the success of methanol-based fuels can be driven decisively by more intensive cooperation between research institutions, industry and start-ups. The event has thus provided an important impetus for further networking between the players and the development of innovative solutions. InnoFuels will continue to actively promote this cooperation and intensify the exchange between the participants in the future.