Synhelion, Pilatus team up to develop eSAF

Swiss aircraft manufacturer Pilatus Aircraft and synthetic fuels technology developer Synhelion have paired up to develop sustainable aviation fuel (eSAF) via the power-to-liquid technology through scaling of Synhelion’s solar fuels.

“We are convinced of the value of solar fuel technology – these fuels are the best way to defossilise air travel as quickly as possible. We’re delighted to play a pioneering role together with Synhelion, and make an important contribution to sustainability in the aviation industry,” said Markus Bucher, CEO, Pilatus.

Pilatus also announced that it has also acquired a stake in Synhelion, a spin-off from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH), in April.

The press release issued by the two companies showed that Synhelion is developing industrial solar fuel production plant in Germany whereas construction on the commercial plant in Spain is already being scheduled to begin in 2025.

“We’re extremely proud to have Pilatus as a partner and shareholder. Over the next few years, we will focus fully on scaling our fuels worldwide. Together, we aim to roll out sustainable solar fuels to the entire Pilatus customer fleet within the next ten years,” added Philipp Furler, Co-CEO and co-founder, Synhelion.

Synhelion aims to utilise this green power to produce e-fuels such as eSAF. Pilatus hopes to use Synhelion’s solar fuel i.e. eSAF for its own fleet of aircraft before offering the same fuel to its customers.