DGAP-News

H&R GmbH & Co. KGaA: The NextGate – Pioneering demonstration project in Hamburg - Seite 2

In contrast to the fossil origin of these raw materials, the PtL process enables the production of synthesis-based hydrocarbons made from sustainable and climate-friendly components. For this purpose, green hydrogen from the electrolysis hydrogen plant commissioned in 2017 is first processed together with biogenic CO₂ to produce synthesis gas, from which synthetic hydrocarbons are subsequently produced. The plant is integrated into the network of Norddeutsches Reallabor (NRL), in which 50 partners from different production and consumption sectors are jointly testing new ways to achieve climate neutrality as part of an energy transition alliance.

With the official inauguration of the plant, the NextGate project partners are completing an important part of the commissioning phase, in which all essential systems have already been ramped up and the first batches of synthetic hydrocarbons have been produced. In the coming weeks, operations will be optimized in terms of continuous production. "In the near future, we will produce eFuels and synthetic raw materials and refine them to specification-compliant end products and base materials for chemical-pharmaceutical products," says Dr. Thorsten Frick, Director Transformation at H&R. The company's declared goal is to transform the basic chemical industry and also to support its own customers in their climate protection goals.

In the coming years, building on the volumes from the NextGate demonstration project, H&R and Mabanaft will enable the market ramp-up by increasing production volumes to a commercial scale through projects of the joint venture company P2X-Europe.

"We need to reduce our dependence on fossil raw materials. At the same time, for many aspects of our everyday social and economic lives, we also need climate-friendly alternatives to fossil liquid fuels that can be used directly and easily as substitutes. With the help of the PtL technology, we can offer synthetic fuels in the form of CO₂-neutral eFuels to air, marine and rail transport and thus make a significant contribution to the defossilization of these sectors," explains Volker Ebeling, Senior Vice President New Energy, Chemicals & Gas at Mabanaft.