Schwedt/Oder, May 11, 2026 – German Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Katherina Reiche and Minister-President Dietmar Woidke today hand over the funding approval notice for Germany’s largest production facility for Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) in Schwedt.
The project “Brandenburg eSAF” will receive total funding of EUR 350 million from the German federal government (two thirds) and the State of Brandenburg (one third). Through this support, the companies ENERTRAG and ZAFFRA will build Germany’s largest industrial-scale production facility for Power-to-Liquid aviation fuels (PtL-SAF or eSAF) at the PCK refinery site. With an annual production capacity of at least 30,000 tonnes, “Brandenburg eSAF” will supply more than one quarter of Germany’s eSAF demand from 2030 onwards, as mandated by the ReFuelEU Aviation Regulation.
Siegfried Knecht, Chairman of the Board of aireg, comments: “With today’s handover of the funding approval notice, the German federal government and the State of Brandenburg are sending a strong signal for Germany. Sustainable aviation fuels on an industrial scale based on renewable electricity and biogenic CO₂ using Fischer-Tropsch synthesis now have a clear timeline and a concrete location. After 15 years of aireg, this day is a moment of great joy, as our members ZAFFRA and ENERTRAG are creating a blueprint for the German and European eSAF industry at the site of our member PCK refinery in Schwedt – one that other aireg members such as INERATEC, CAPHENIA, Spark e-Fuels and others can follow.
I would also like to express my special thanks to Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Reiche: she was a key supporter during the founding phase of aireg and participated on behalf of the political community at aireg’s founding event in Berlin in 2011. With today’s funding approval, she and the State of Brandenburg are setting the course for the scale-up of eSAF in Germany.“
At least one key task for policymakers still remains: Beyond mandatory SAF and eSAF blending quotas, it is urgently necessary to establish a regulatory framework that incentivizes investment and mitigates the associated risks. To safeguard multi-billion-euro investments, policymakers should introduce “grandfathering rights” to provide regulatory protection for existing investments. Once approved, production facilities must be able to operate for their entire economic lifetime (at least 15–20 years) under the regulatory conditions in place at the time of the Final Investment Decision (FID).
About aireg e.V.
aireg – the Aviation Initiative for Renewable Energy in Germany e.V. was established in 2011 as a consortium of companies and organisations from industry, research, and academia. As a charitable initiative, aireg is dedicated to promoting the availability and use of renewable energies in aviation to achieve the aviation industry’s ambitious CO₂ reduction targets. Its members span the entire value chain of renewable energies for aviation, ranging from university and major research institution research, equipment manufacturers and operators, bio-refineries, the petroleum industry, engine and aircraft manufacturers, government organisations, non-governmental organisations, and airports to airlines. The industrial members internationally range from startups to large conglomerates.
aireg e.V.
Maximilian Uhl
Political Communication Officer
kontakt@aireg.de
www.aireg.de