The Karlsruhe-based power-to-liquid specialist Ineratec and the Belgian catalyst company Zeopore have agreed on a technology cooperation for the production of CO2-neutral fuels and chemicals. At the center is a newly developed hydrocracking process by Ineratec, which aims to upgrade Fischer-Tropsch waxes from power-to-liquid production into high-quality, drop-in capable fuels and chemicals. According to the company, Zeopore's meso-zeolite catalyst technology is expected to improve the selectivity, activity, and lifespan of the catalysts in the process.
Hydrocracking as a key step after Fischer-Tropsch synthesis
Ineratec develops modular power-to-liquid plants that convert green CO2 and hydrogen into synthetic hydrocarbons via the reverse water-gas shift reaction and low-temperature Fischer-Tropsch synthesis. The heavy waxes produced in this process need to be further processed in a subsequent step. In hydrocracking, long-chain paraffins are split and isomerized into branched hydrocarbons. According to Ineratec, the result is fuels with lower freezing points and improved engine performance.
For this step, Ineratec has developed its own upgrading technology. The process operates at low pressure and is specifically designed, according to the company, for converting Fischer-Tropsch waxes into drop-in capable synthetic fuels (E-SAF) and chemicals. Ineratec points to several advantages: higher E-SAF yield through advanced catalyst design, lower operating costs by eliminating high-pressure systems and steam integration, and reduced capital requirements through a leaner plant architecture.
According to Ineratec, the integration of microstructure technology into stacked reactor foils with extremely fine channels "enables exceptionally precise mass and heat exchange throughout the process. This innovative reactor design maximizes energy efficiency, dynamically adapts to fluctuating inputs of renewable energies, and offers a highly scalable solution for climate-neutral production of fuels and chemicals."
Meso-zeolites as performance levers
Zeopore's catalysts feature specifically introduced mesopores that serve as internal molecular transport pathways. This is intended to overcome the diffusion and selectivity limits of conventional zeolites. Zeopore brings experience from optimizing zeolites for cracking, isomerization, aromatization, and alcohol conversion processes and is now expanding its focus to sustainable CO2 conversion processes.
According to the partners, tests in Ineratec's plants have shown several effects: higher carbon utilization, significantly extended catalyst lifespan, lower reaction temperatures, and a double-digit percentage reduction in hydrogen consumption. The formation of undesirable light gases is also expected to decrease. Over longer operating periods, the modified zeolites have also demonstrated stability and reusability.
Company statements
"Zeopore's catalyst technology complements Ineratec's process innovation excellently. The performance of the catalyst is a central component for a highly efficient and competitive hydrocracking process," says Tim Böltken, CEO of Ineratec. Together, they are advancing a scalable path to more efficient production of sustainable, drop-in capable fuels and chemicals.
Kurt Du Mong, CEO of Zeopore, explains: "Our goal is to reduce the price premium of sustainable fuel production and advance its industrialization." The added value of meso-zeolites for technologies like Ineratec's plant platform Era One is significant. Zeopore is now ready for scaling and invites further partners.
Ineratec is one of the best-known European providers of modular power-to-liquid plants and is building an industrial production facility for synthetic fuels in Frankfurt-Höchst, among other locations. With the integration of its own hydrocracking stage, the company covers another part of the value chain up to the drop-in capable end product. The cooperation with Zeopore is intended to help improve the economics of synthetic fuels—a key obstacle on the path to industrial scaling of e-fuels and E-SAF.
