Synhelion

History

2024: Launch of world's first solar heat-based liquid fuel plant

At the end of June 2024, the German company Synhelion announced the opening of the world's first industrial-scale plant for the production of liquid synthetic fuel based on solar heat. A plant called DAWN is located in Jülich, about 50 km west of Cologne, Germany.

By launching a new plant, the company wants to demonstrate the potential of new technologies that will eliminate fossil fuels in the transport sector, primarily in aviation. The launch should also show that the new technology is ready for widespread use.

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Synhelion

DAWN consists of a 20-meter-high solar tower surrounded by a mirror field for the concentration of sunlight. Inside the tower is a solar receiver with a black surface. This surface absorbs heat, which is then transferred to a thermochemical reactor using absorbed thermal energy to produce a synthetic liquid fuel. The tower also has an economical thermal energy storage system that helps generate fuel during periods without sunlight.

According to a company press release, "DAWN will demonstrate for the first time the entire production chain from sunlight concentration to synthetic liquid fuel production on an industrial scale." The DAWN plant is scheduled to launch in the second half of 2024. The company says it will "produce several thousand litres of fuel a year." Syncrude produced by the plant is an intermediate product that is convenient for transportation. It will be sent to refineries, where it will be processed into certified fuel that is ready for use.

Synhelion will not only produce solar fuel for aircraft, but also solar gasoline and solar diesel fuel for cars and maritime transport, the company said in a press release.[1]

2022: Start of construction of a plant to produce synthetic fuel based on solar energy

In early September 2022, it became known that Synhelion, a project of the ETH Zurich group, began construction of its own industrial plant for the production of synthetic fuel using solar heat DAWN. Located in Germany, the plant will demonstrate the entire process from the concentration of sunlight to the production of synthetic liquid fuels on an industrial scale.

The production process solar heat using was only first demonstrated in 2019 at the ETH Zurich rooftop mini-refinery. Synhelion has since focused on scaling up the technology and giving it industrial viability.

The construction of the world's first plant for the production of synthetic fuel on solar energy has begun

At the end of August 2022, the last important technological milestone for the industrial production of solar fuel was achieved, solar syngas was obtained on an industrial scale at the multifocal solar tower of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in Julich. Synhelion developed a solar heat process to produce syngas, which is then used in standard industrial processes to synthesize liquid fuels, such as kerosene, gasoline or diesel, compatible with conventional jet and internal combustion engines.

Solar radiation is concentrated by a mirror field on a solar receiver developed by Synhelion in a multifocal solar tower. The technology of accurate control of the mirror field was developed and installed by the company. In particular, a 250 kW receiver from Synhelion was connected to a 12-ton 6 m Wood-Ljungdahl reforming reactor. The reactor runs on solar heat, and the demonstrated system has a capacity of 100 standard cubic meters of syngas per hour.

DAWN will be the first factory on an industrial scale to use all of Synhelion's innovative developments. The demonstration plant will also serve as a model for future commercial installations. The installation consists of a solar tower 20 m high and a heliostat field with a mirror surface of 1.5 thousand meters. Solar radiation is converted into high-temperature technological heat of more than 1 thousand ° C, which then drives a thermochemical reaction to produce solar fuel. The reactor is fed with methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) from the biosolids of the local paper mill, as well as water (H2O).

The technology of accurate heliostat field control was developed by Synhelion and guarantees the optimal use of land resources and building materials, according to the developers. The solar tower houses three innovative developments of the company: a solar receiver, a thermochemical reactor and a thermal energy storage system that provides cost-effective round-the-clock operation.

The German Federal Ministry of Economy and Climate supports the construction and operation of DAWN in the amount of €3.92 million. In the long term, the DAWN installation will be used primarily for R&D.

Synhelion's industrial demonstration plant will produce several thousand litres of fuel per year. The fuel produced will be used to demonstrate various possible applications. Plants planned in the future will exceed DAWN's size and provide significantly higher production capacity.^[2]

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