Rolls-Royce and clean fuels startup INERATEC have announced a strategic partnership to decarbonise backup power systems for data centres by replacing fossil diesel with climate-neutral e-fuels. Founded in 2016, INERATEC produces sustainable e-fuels and synthetic chemicals to replace fossil crude oil. The company constructs modular chemical plants for “Power-to-X” and gas-to-liquid applications, utilising hydrogen from renewable electricity and greenhouse gases like CO2 to produce fuels and chemicals, including e-kerosene, CO2-neutral gasoline, clean diesel, synthetic waxes, methanol, or SNG.
The collaboration with Rolls-Royce marks a new application for e-fuels in powering critical infrastructure amid rising energy demands driven by artificial intelligence. Maximilian Backhaus, Chief Commercial Officer at INERATEC, stated: “The secure energy supply for AI-powered data centres is one of the defining challenges of our time. Our e-fuels offer a climate-neutral solution that is scalable, dependable, and ready for immediate deployment.”
The initiative will leverage INERATEC’s synthetic e-diesel as a sustainable alternative to conventional diesel for emergency generators. Rolls-Royce Power Systems plans to integrate these e-fuels into its emergency power systems, aiming for a more cost-effective and CO2-neutral solution for data centres, particularly those classified as critical infrastructure. Tobias Ostermaier, President of the Stationary Power Solutions business unit at Rolls-Royce Power Systems, remarked: “mtu emergency generators from Rolls-Royce are already approved for operation with sustainable fuels. Customers in the critical infrastructure sector, such as data centres, who are aiming to reduce their carbon footprint, will soon be able to use e-fuels.”
The partnership will initially target data centres in Germany, benefiting from short delivery routes from INERATEC’s ERA ONE production facility in Frankfurt. The company’s e-fuels are manufactured using renewable electricity and biogenic CO2, in compliance with international environmental standards such as ISCC. Over time, the companies plan to expand the rollout of their solution internationally, advancing efforts to decarbonise energy-intensive digital infrastructure.
Last year, INERATEC raised over $129 million in its Series B funding round, with proceeds intended to scale production of the company’s sustainable e-fuels, aimed at decarbonising hard-to-abate industries.
