Swiss plans to use Synhelion’s ‘sun-to-liquid’ SAF this year

SWISS aims to become the first customer for Synhelion’s solar kerosene Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) this year. Synhelion plans to start industrial production of what it calls “sun-to-liquid fuel” in Jülich, Germany.

Synhelion said it is targeting a production cost of below €1 per litre by 2030, hoping to be competitive with fossil fuel.

“Our next generation carbon-neutral solar kerosene is an economically and ecologically viable substitute for fossil fuels,” said Philipp Furler, co-founder and CEO, Synhelion. “The commitment of SWISS and the Lufthansa Group underlines the aviation sector’s keen interest in our solar fuel, and we are looking forward already to the day the first SWISS aircraft takes off with our solar kerosene.”

Because solar fields are installed on non-arable land, the solar fuel technology could cover 50 times the current global jet fuel demand, according to the firm. By 2030, Synhelion will ramp up production capacity to produce 875m litres of solar fuel per year, enough to cover half of Switzerland’s net fuel consumption.

“Our team-up with Synhelion is founded on our shared vision to make carbon-neutral flying in regular flight operations possible through the use of solar fuel,” said Dieter Vranckx, CEO, SWISS. “We are proud that SWISS will be the first airline in the world to fly with solar kerosene. In partnering with Synhelion, we are supporting Swiss innovation and are actively pursuing and promoting the development, the market introduction and the scaling-up of this highly promising technology for producing sustainable fuels.”