Mitigating climate change requires the development of technologies that combine energy and transport sectors. One of them is the production of sustainable fuels from electricity and carbon dioxide (CO₂) via power-to-liquid (PtL) plants. As one option for splitting CO₂, plasma-based processes promise a high potential due to their flexibility, scalability, and theoretically high efficiencies. This work includes a modeling and techno-economic analysis. A crucial element is the process of the joint project PlasmaFuel, in which two plasma technologies are included in a PtL plant to produce synthetically sulfur-free marine diesel. The results are divided into three scenarios, which differ in the use of different boundary conditions and thus represent different degrees of technology development. The evaluation results in process efficiencies from 16.5% for scenario 2018/20 to 27.5% for scenario 2050, and net production costs between EUR 8.5/L and EUR 3.5/L. Furthermore, the techno-economic potential is mapped in order to open up development steps in the direction of costs below EUR 2.0/L. The present work allows statements regarding system integration and the industrial use of the plasma-based process.; moreover, conclusions can be drawn towards the most important levers in terms of process optimization.

Plasma technology reaches rapidly increasing efficiency in catalytic applications. One such application is the splitting reaction of CO₂ to oxygen and carbon monoxide. This reaction could be a cornerstone of power-to-X processes that utilize electricity to produce value-added compounds such as chemicals and fuels. However, it poses problems in practice due to its highly endothermal nature and challenging selectivity. In this communication a glow discharge plasma reactor is presented that achieves high energy efficiency in the CO₂ splitting reaction. To achieve this, a magnetic field is used to increase the discharge volume. Combined with laminar gas flow, this leads to even energy distribution in the working gas. Thus, the reactor achieves very high energy efficiency of up to 45% while also reaching high CO₂ conversion efficiency. These results are briefly explained and then compared to other plasma technologies. Lastly, cutting edge energy efficiencies of competing technologies such as CO₂ electrolysis are discussed in comparison.