Synhelion succeeds in industrial scale syngas production from solar heat

In Germany, Synhelion has become the first company in the world to succeed in producing syngas on an industrial scale using only solar heat as an energy source. The Swiss solar fuel pioneer successfully demonstrated this on the multifocus solar tower of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in Jülich, North Rhine-Westphalia. The last decisive technical milestone for the industrial production of carbon-neutral jet fuels has thus been reached. 

Synhelion has developed a solar thermal process for the production of synthetic fuels that does not require electricity. The unique technology uses high-temperature solar heat to produce syngas, which is then used in standard industrial processes to synthesize liquid fuels, such as kerosene, gasoline, or diesel, that are compatible with conventional jet engines and internal combustion engines. Such Sun-to-Liquid fuel closes the CO2 cycle, as it releases only as much CO2 during its combustion as was previously used for its production.