In the research project "reFuels - Rethinking Fuels", the entire value chain of renewable fuels was examined from 2019 to 2022 - from production and distribution to practical use in different types of vehicles. For an interactive insight into the project, click on the image opposite.
Renewable fuels, known as reFuels, offer a climate-friendly alternative to fossil fuels and are therefore a sensible addition to electromobility. They can reduce CO₂ emissions by up to 90 percent over the entire life cycle - without having to retrofit existing vehicles or infrastructure. In order to tap into this potential, KIT has been working for several years with partners from industry, politics and science to produce these innovative fuels efficiently and economically.
The most important findings at a glance:
- For the first time, larger quantities of synthetic diesel and gasoline fuel were produced from renewable energies.
- The technology for producing the reFuels products was refined and further developed and their carbon and energy efficiency significantly increased.
- In addition, the developed fuels were tested in vehicles with today's combustion engines. A haulage company in southern Germany drove over a million test kilometers with a fleet of different types of trucks using the reFuels fuel.
- In order to enable larger-scale production and the market launch of reFuels, a concept for a demonstration plant on a refinery scale was developed.
- Finally, the quotas for blending into conventional fossil fuels were increased to 100 percent, resulting in a "reFuels pure fuel".
- All relevant factors, from production processes to costs and product properties through to environmental influences, were evaluated holistically for the first time.
- All interest groups, from industry to trade associations, politics, NGOS and consumers, were informed and involved in the research process through discussion events and workshops.
Two in one: "reFuels" and "InnoFuels" projects 
Building on the reFuels results, the InnoFuels project was launched in February 2023: The platform project , which is funded by the German government, is working on the prerequisites for the rapid ramp-up of the production of renewable fuels. The aim is to network the many national and European research projects on the topic. The collaboration is intended to help accelerate the production of larger quantities of electricity-based liquid fuels and advanced biofuels.
Aufbauend auf den reFuels-Ergebnissen ist seit Februar 2023 das Projekt InnoFuels an den Start gegangen: In dem von der Bundesregierung geförderten Plattform-Projekt wird an den Voraussetzungen für den schnellen Hochlauf der Produktion regenerativer Kraftstoffe gearbeitet. Ziel ist eine Vernetzung der vielen nationalen und europäischen Forschungsvorhaben zu dem Thema. Die Zusammenarbeit soll helfen, die Produktion größerer Mengen strombasierter Flüssigkraftstoffe und fortschrittlicher Biokraftstoffe zu beschleunigen.
Neben anderen deutschen Forschungsinstituten bringen sich auch die reFuels-Projektteams aktiv in diese Plattform ein.
At the beginning of August, Baden-Württemberg State Secretaries Florian Haßler and Patrick Rapp visited the Ultramarin filling station in Kressbronn. As part of a state project, the regenerative fuel HVO (Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil) is being offered there for private ships - with a proven greenhouse gas reduction of 87%. This is made possible by the conversion of the marine filling stations to reFuels and the digital connection to fuel data, implemented in cooperation with Bosch. Even if InnoFuels is not directly involved here, such pilot projects are important signposts: they show how technology, politics and practice can work together to massively reduce CO₂ emissions.
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The bioliq® project at KIT, which was completed at the end of last year, demonstrated early on how residual biomass such as straw can be converted into synthetic fuel - a technological milestone that is also highly relevant for current projects such as InnoFuels or Refinnieries for Future (Ref4FU). The process chain comprises the shredding and drying of residual biomass, its thermochemical conversion via fast pyrolysis, the central gasification and purification of the synthesis gas and the subsequent chemical fuel synthesis. And all of this on an industrial scale. In this interview, project manager Prof. Nicolaus Dahmen looks back on the most important stages, challenges and successes of bioliq ®.
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A new technical report from the InnoFuels platform project summarizes how paraffinic diesel - especially HVO - affects the particle mass and particle number emissions of diesel engines. Both internal engine emissions and the effect of exhaust gas aftertreatment systems are taken into account. The paper provides important insights into engine and aftertreatment emissions and can thus support fleet operators, manufacturers and politicians in using the fuel, which has been officially approved since mid-2024, sensibly and responsibly as a climate-friendly option.
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