The world’s first industrial facility for solar fuels will be built in the Brainergy Park Jülich. With nearly four million euros in federal funding, the Swiss company Synhelion will cover the entire integrated technology chain from concentrated sunlight to synthetic liquid fuel on an industrial scale for the first time. The specific end products are expected to be solar kerosene and solar gasoline.
The planned facility will utilize the solar thermal process developed by Synhelion for the production of synthetic fuels, which is based on process heat from concentrated sunlight. In 2019, Synhelion demonstrated the feasibility of this technology under real operating conditions at a small pilot plant in collaboration with ETH Zurich. In 2020, Synhelion successfully tested a second prototype using artificial sunlight at the Jülich Synlight facility of the DLR, the world’s largest artificial sun. To bring solar fuel to market as quickly as possible, Synhelion entered into a partnership with Wood in May 2021. Wood is the world’s leading provider of consulting and engineering services in the fields of energy and environmental technology. As part of this collaboration, a test facility for producing synthesis gas was established at the Jülich solar tower of the DLR to demonstrate the technology on an industrial scale.
The transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources is one of the most important global challenges for the future. Synthetic fuels are climate-friendly and provide a sustainable alternative to fossil fuels. They are compatible with conventional combustion engines, aircraft turbines, and the existing fuel infrastructure. Due to their high energy density, they also meet the requirements for long-distance transport and air travel.
