Politics in Dialogue with Science and Industry

The course for the industrial production of synthetic fuels in Germany must be set now – this was the shared conclusion when Christian Hirte, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport, visited TU Bergakademie Freiberg.

The discussions focused on the perspectives for scaling up synthetic fuel production and the necessary political and economic framework conditions. Together with our research partner, we presented the current development status of our CAC MethaFuel® and CAC MethaJet® technologies, as well as the large-scale project currently in planning – German eFuel One, Germany’s first industrial-scale gasoline synthesis plant.

The exchange made it clear: the technological foundations for climate-friendly, CO₂-neutral fuels already exist. What is needed now are stable political framework conditions and investment incentives to enable the transition from research to industrial implementation.

A subsequent tour of the pilot plants at the historic Reiche Zeche site demonstrated that research and industry in Freiberg are already capable of delivering market-ready solutions. To take the next step, regulatory clarity and long-term planning security are essential – to build a competitive and sustainable fuel production infrastructure in Germany.

Among the participants were Dr. Peter Seifert and Prof. Dr. Martin Gräbner from the Institute of Energy Process Engineering and Chemical Engineering (IEC) at TU Bergakademie Freiberg, Christian Hirte (Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport), Jörg Engelmann (Managing Director, CAC ENGINEERING GMBH), Christian Hanke (Managing Director, German eFuel One), and Dr. Mario Kuschel (Head of Research & Development, CAC ENGINEERING GMBH).

Germany has the opportunity to take a leading role in the development and application of synthetic fuels – a chance that should be seized to link technology, climate protection, and industrial value creation for the long term.