German energy alliance to produce e-fuels for military

A group of German industrial and cleantech companies has joined forces to build a Europe-wide network of modular e-fuel production plants for military use.

The ‘Giga PtX’ project aims to secure a fuel supply that is locally produced and independent of global fossil fuel supply chains, in order to “strengthen the resilience” of European armed forces.

Depending on the application, the e-fuel plants will each be capable of producing 5,000 to 7,000 tonnes of diesel, marine diesel, or kerosene per year. The partners plan to roll out several hundred such facilities across Europe by 2030, designed for rapid construction and scalable production.

The alliance is led by defence infrastructure specialist Rheinmetall, which will oversee the design, construction, maintenance, and operation of the facilities. Partners include Sunfire, an electrolyser manufacturer; Greenlyte, a carbon capture specialist based in North Rhine-Westphalia; and Ineratec, which supplies synthesis technology based on reverse water-gas shift and Fischer–Tropsch processes to convert hydrogen and carbon dioxide into synthetic fuels.