Greenlyte and Eurowings Agree on SAF Ramp-Up at Düsseldorf Airport

Essen-based start-up Greenlyte and Lufthansa subsidiary Eurowings have entered into a strategic partnership to accelerate the production of power-to-liquid kerosene (SAF). Greenlyte, a member of the H2 Start-up Cluster at DIE GAS- UND WASSERSTOFFWIRTSCHAFT, will build and operate the SAF facility. As part of a Memorandum of Understanding, Eurowings announced its commitment to act as the exclusive off-taker of the entire production volume for the first three years.

Greenlyte plans to establish a pilot plant at Düsseldorf Airport for the production of power-to-liquid fuel, known as “Direct Air Capture to Sustainable Aviation Fuel.” Once completed, the facility is set to rank among the largest projects of its kind worldwide. The technology extracts CO₂ directly from the atmosphere, simultaneously produces green hydrogen, and combines both to generate synthetic kerosene. A share of the electricity required for the facility will be supplied by a photovoltaic system installed at the airport. With a planned annual capacity of around 150 tons of SAF, the plant could theoretically enable about 60 flights between Düsseldorf and Palma de Mallorca – based on the currently permitted maximum SAF blending quota of 50 percent.

Eurowings has committed to exclusively purchasing the entire output of the facility during the first three years. “The future of flying must be both more sustainable and affordable,” emphasizes Eurowings CEO Jens Bischof. The airline thus makes clear that beyond technical feasibility, economic scalability is the decisive factor.

The project is also of strategic importance for Düsseldorf Airport. “For power-to-liquid SAF to be offered at lower prices in the future, production ramp-up must be supported and improvements in the manufacturing process achieved through innovative approaches,” says Lars Redeligx, CEO of Düsseldorf Airport. Until now, SAF has been significantly more expensive than fossil kerosene and is only produced in very small quantities. Only with increasing production capacity and technological progress can costs come down and mandated blending quotas be met.

Florian Hildebrand, CEO and co-founder of Greenlyte, is convinced that the project has the potential to fundamentally transform aviation: “We want to demonstrate that SAF can be produced cost-efficiently and at scale – and that our technology can thereby become a catalyst for climate-neutral flying.”