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The federal government has reached an agreement with the German airlines on a procedure to decarbonise air traffic.
Accordingly, according to a step-by-step plan, CO2-free fuels are to be introduced.
The “Roadmap for the Air” agreed by several federal and state ministries with the trade associations is available to WELT.
According to the plan, the federal government should first lay the foundations for a so-called PtL industry.
The abbreviation stands for “Power to Liquids” and describes a process for the production of liquid fuels based on hydrogen.
This climate-neutral energy source is produced from water by means of electrolysis.
The carbon, which is also required, is to be produced from the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2), which is to be filtered out of the ambient air.
Source: WORLD infographic
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"By switching to electricity-based kerosene, we can save millions of tons of CO2 emissions in air traffic," explained the leading Federal Transport Minister, Andreas Scheuer (CSU).
His ministry commissions the German Aerospace Center (DLR) to design a production facility with partners from research and industry, "so that we can produce the fuel economically and put it into use more quickly," said Scheuer.
"Our goal is to fly climate-neutral," said the minister.
As already provided for in the federal climate protection law, the first step in 2026 is to add 0.2 percent synthetic fuel to the kerosene.
The binding minimum quota should then increase to two percent by 2030.
For this purpose, 200,000 tons of sustainable kerosene are to be produced.
The “Roadmap for the Air” is still silent about the costs
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This amount is "a realistic first step that is by no means too small," said BP Europe CEO Wolfgang Langhoff, who was involved in the talks as chairman of the petroleum industry association.
This amount of kerosene "enables the decarbonization of around a third of all German domestic flights by 2030".
The long-term costs of the concept are not entirely transparent in the “Roadmap for the Air”.
According to information from WELT, the federal government will initially provide start-up financing of one billion euros for the ramp-up of production.
The fuel, which is still very expensive at least at the beginning, is not intended to put a strain on the competitiveness of German airlines.
This means that the higher market prices for clean kerosene should not be passed on to passengers via higher ticket prices.
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The level of the kerosene price is an important competitive factor for airlines.
It alone accounts for around 35 percent of an airline's costs.
The obligation to use climate-neutral kerosene in Germany alone would create a considerable imbalance in international competition.
Because the new, green fuel would initially be at least five times more expensive than conventional kerosene.
Without compensation, airlines could be tempted to resort to the alternative strategy of so-called tankering and only refuel their aircraft fully abroad, where there is no obligation to use expensive, climate-neutral fuels.
In order to relieve the airlines of the additional costs of climate protection, there are two options: Either the federal government subsidizes the PtL fuel so low that it becomes competitive in price.
Source: WORLD infographic
Alternatively, the airlines could be compensated for the additional costs with corresponding discounts on the German air traffic tax.
According to reports, an admixture quota of two percent involves additional costs of around 500 million euros initially.
The aviation tax has so far contributed around two billion euros to the federal budget.
"We welcome the agreement that regulatory measures for the market ramp-up should be designed in such a way that they are effective on the one hand and competition-neutral on the other," said Peter Gerber, President of the Federal Association of the German Aviation Industry (BDL).
"On this basis, we want to participate in the construction of industrial plants for the production of sustainable aviation fuels, for example in the form of purchase guarantees," says Gerber.
Blue hydrogen would make the production of climate-neutral fuel cheaper
The production of climate-neutral fuel would be much cheaper if so-called blue hydrogen could be used at least temporarily.
This hydrogen is obtained from natural gas, whereby the resulting greenhouse gas CO2 is stored underground.
While neighboring countries such as the Netherlands or Norway are relying on this more favorable strategy, the Federal Environment Ministry in Germany has reportedly insisted that only the much more expensive, green hydrogen from electrolysis plants may be used.
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Although the technology for producing electricity-based fuel has long been known, there are still no industrial production facilities. “In order to ensure smooth production processes on an industrial scale, among other things, the establishment of a platform for the development, testing and demonstration of different production processes for PtL fuels is planned,” says the “Roadmap for the Air”. The Federal Ministry of Transport and the Federal Environment Ministry are to be responsible for the demonstration systems.
"With electricity-based kerosene based on green hydrogen, we are showing that flying and climate protection do not contradict each other," said Federal Economics Minister Peter Altmaier (CDU).
"With the important step for the market ramp-up of green hydrogen, we want to expand the technological leadership of German companies and advance the development of a global hydrogen economy," said Altmaier.
Karlsruhe climate judgment condemns politics to detention
A groundbreaking ruling from Karlsruhe puts pressure on politicians in terms of climate protection.
The Federal Constitutional Court ruled that the federal government must also protect the civil liberties of younger generations when it comes to climate protection.
Source: WORLD / Marcus Tychsen
"Even if we can avoid short-haul flights in the future by expanding rail and intelligently coupling modes of transport and relocating other traffic - there will be areas in which air traffic is without an alternative and we are dependent on it," explained Tarek Al-Wazir (Bündnis 90 / Die Grünen), the Hessian Minister for Economic Affairs, Energy, Transport and Housing.
“We are united by the goal that we want to consistently transform this air traffic.” As the location of the largest German airport in Frankfurt am Main, the state of Hesse was involved in the negotiations.
The ministries for economics, the environment and economic cooperation and development were also involved in the “Roadmap for the Air” under the leadership of the Federal Ministry of Transport.
The BDL was responsible for the design and on the part of the industry, as well as the Federal Association of the German Aerospace Industry (BDLI), the Mineral Oil Industry Association (MWV) and the "Power-to-X for Applications" working group of the Association of German Mechanical and Plant Engineering ( VDMA).
In Europe, aviation has been included in emissions trading since 2012
According to the aviation association, the kerosene consumption per passenger is 3.56 liters per 100 kilometers.
In 2018, domestic air traffic accounted for 0.28 percent of German CO2 emissions.
Aviation accounted for around three percent of global CO2 emissions.
That is a little more than shipping with 2.6 percent, but significantly less than road traffic, which accounts for around 18 percent of global CO2 emissions.
At the level of the United Nations, climate protection is already being organized by the aviation organization ICAO.
The Corsia compensation system was set up here.
The aim is to offset the CO2 that is generated by further growth in air traffic from 2020 by financing climate protection projects.
In Europe, aviation has been included in emissions trading since 2012.
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