The German Aerospace Center (DLR) is receiving €130 million from the German Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport (BMDV) for the construction of the power-to-liquids technology platform (PtL). The research facility in Leuna, Saxony-Anhalt, is intended to research and develop technologies for the production of electricity-based fuels on an industrial scale.

The launch of the power-to-liquid fuel technology platform in Leuna is a milestone on the way to climate-friendly mobility. The world’s first plant is being built at the traditional location in Saxony-Anhalt, where electricity-based fuels are fully integrated across the entire technology strand and on an industrial scale. The aim is to ramp up the production of fuels. We need these fuels to achieve our climate protection goals. Germany should remain a technology leader in this area.

—Federal Minister Volker Wissing

The DLR was selected in 2023 in a competitive call for funding by the BMDV to plan the site in Leuna in detail. For this planning phase, the BMDV has already provided around €5.48 million. The project is now starting the implementation phase.

The concept of the research plant is based on two plant lines: In the research line of the plant, DLR will test new technologies and processes with science and industry. The researchers will carry out detailed scientific analyses and optimize individual components. The focus of the demonstration line will be on the operation of a semi-industrial plant for the production of electricity-based fuels with a capacity of 2,000 to 3,000 tons per year.

The plant would thus be the world’s largest research facility in the field of electricity-based fuels.