Exolum to Drive Transition Towards Sustainable Fuels at Düsseldorf Airport with €70 Million Investment

Madrid -- Exolum has been awarded the contract for the construction, operation, connection and maintenance of the new fuel storage and distribution terminal at Düsseldorf Airport, Germany. The company will invest nearly €70 million in the project, with construction scheduled to begin in the third quarter of 2026. The contract was signed at the offices of the airport’s public operator, Flughafen Düsseldorf GmbH (FDG).

The new facility will replace the two current storage plants and increase capacity to 9,000 m³, 41% more than at present. This will significantly increase security of supply while enabling greater use of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) and sulphur-free kerosene. The company will operate the terminal for 20 years, extendable to 25, after which the infrastructure will become the property of FDG.

The plant is scheduled to start operating in the second quarter of 2028. It will then be connected to the railway network, so that from the end of 2029 onwards, most of the fuel will no longer be transported by road but by train, a more environmentally friendly alternative. This will also enable supplies to be sourced from more distant refineries, such as the SAF production plants in Rotterdam. This will reduce CO₂ emissions, ease the burden on the road network and increase efficiency in supply, loading and unloading operations.

According to Javier Goñi, CEO at Exolum: “Exolum aims to drive its growth in Germany by guaranteeing a reliable, efficient and top-quality supply for Düsseldorf Airport. Our company brings extensive know-how and solid experience in terminal management at dozens of airports across Europe and the Americas, which we are now putting at the service of Düsseldorf and the airport’s users. In addition, the new terminal will facilitate the supply of SAF, which must represent 6% of the total by 2030, in line with the European ReFuelEU directive”.

Lars Redeligx, CEO of Düsseldorf Airport, says: “Our goal is to be among the best airports in Europe in our category in terms of quality, efficiency and, of course, sustainability. To achieve this, we need strong, forward-thinking partners with a high level of technical expertise, such as Exolum. Thanks to the new plant, we will be able to access sustainable fuels from completely new sources and replace thousands of tanker trucks that currently arrive by road and motorway each year, transferring that volume to rail transport.”

Düsseldorf airport, with more than 20 million passengers annually, is the main airport in the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region, which includes cities such as Cologne, Bonn and Dortmund. It is Germany’s most populous area, with 10 million inhabitants, and one of the main economic and financial centres of Central Europe.

Exolum and the Aviation Sector

Exolum is the world’s leading independent aviation logistics company and Europe’s leading storage and distribution infrastructure management company for bulk liquids and gases. With extensive international experience, the company operates in 49 airports across Europe and Latin America.

These include some of the world’s most important airports, such as Paris-Charles de Gaulle, the busiest airport in the European Union with more than 70 million passengers in 2024, as well as Madrid-Barajas, Barcelona-El Prat, Dublin, Lisbon, Lima and Panama. In addition, in the United Kingdom, we provide logistics services for storage and transport to some of the country’s main airports, such as Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and Manchester, through our pipeline network.

Exolum offers comprehensive solutions that include hydrant networks, aircraft into-plane services and other specialised operations, ensuring efficiency, safety and sustainability throughout the supply chain.

The company is also a strategic partner of IATA, a member of the Joint Inspection Group (JIG), chairs the Energy Institute’s aviation committee, and is a member of ACI and ALTA, reaffirming its commitment to the highest quality standards and the transition towards sustainable aviation fuels (SAF).

About Düsseldorf Airport

As the largest airport in North Rhine-Westphalia, Düsseldorf Airport plays a key role in meeting the mobility needs of citizens and businesses in North Rhine-Westphalia and parts of the Netherlands and Belgium. By 2024, the airport is expected to handle 20 million passengers.

In summer, more than 60 airlines fly from here to over 165 destinations worldwide. Düsseldorf connects almost all European cities directly and, with a broad mix of traditional network airlines, holiday airlines and low-cost carriers, offers a comprehensive portfolio of point-to-point routes and excellent one-stop connections via the major international hubs. The vision is called ‘Destination of Excellence’. Over the next 20 years, investments totalling one billion euros are planned to strengthen, among other things, the sustainable transformation of air transport and the region as a living and economic space.

As the largest workplace in Düsseldorf with around 20,000 jobs, the airport is already providing a significant boost to employment. The airport is leading the way in terms of sustainability: it will be CO2-neutral by 2035.