World’s first industrial-scale solar fuel plant

About DAWN

DAWN is the world’s first industrial-scale solar fuel plant, integrating all of Synhelion’s innovations for solar fuel production. With this plant, Synhelion demonstrates its technologies on an industrial scale, validating its readiness for large-scale deployment.

Located in Jülich, Germany, DAWN is fully operational and produces several thousand liters of solar fuel per year. The fuels will be used to demonstrate real-world applications across various transportation sectors.

Main specifications

Status
Plant DAWN is operational and producing fuels

Products
Solar jet fuel, diesel, and gasoline

Customers
Swiss International Air Lines and other key customers

Location
Brainergy Park Jülich, Germany

Financing
Financed by Synhelion +
EUR 3.92 M from BMWK

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How DAWN produces fuel

Solar energy is converted into high-temperature process heat beyond 1’200°C. At DAWN, this solar heat is generated either by renewable solar power from a PV field through an electric heater, or by heliostats that direct the solar radiation onto a solar receiver.

Part of the generated solar heat is fed into the thermochemical reactor that produces syngas, a mixture of H₂ and CO. The syngas is then processed into fuels, such as jet fuel, gasoline, or diesel, using standard gas-to-liquid technology. The other part of the heat is saved in the thermal energy storage to enable continuous 24/7 operation.

Updates of plant DAWN

Plant DAWN produces fuel

September 2024 | Synhelion has reached a crucial milestone in the commissioning of DAWN. Plant DAWN is operational and has successfully produced synthetic crude oil, achieving the plant’s primary goal of producing renewable solar fuel. The syncrude can be refined in existing refineries into solar kerosene, diesel, and gasoline.

Inauguration of plant DAWN

June 2024 | Synhelion inaugurated DAWN, the world’s first industrial-scale plant to produce synthetic fuels using solar heat. By inaugurating DAWN, Synhelion proves that the technology to produce solar fuels is ready for large scaling. The renewable fuels will demonstrate the technology’s potential to defossilize the transportation sector.

Heliostat field built

June 2024 | The mirror field is up! At plant DAWN, Synhelion will use a heliostat (mirror) field to reflect the solar radiation onto the solar receiver to generate solar process heat for solar fuel production. Now that the construction of DAWN is completed, Synhelion is proceeding with its effort to commission plant DAWN to start fuel production soon.

Key components installed

May 2024 | The key components of our solar fuel technology have been delivered and installed inside the solar tower: the receiver, generating solar process heat, the reactor, converting feedstocks into syngas (the essential component for sustainable liquid fuel), and the thermal energy storage, which retains solar heat for continuous plant operation day and night.

Fischer-Tropsch unit arrived

March 2024 | The Fischer-Tropsch unit has been delivered to the plant DAWN site. This facility plays a crucial role in converting sustainably produced syngas, the universal key to renewable liquid fuel, into synthetic crude oil (also called syncrude). Following this conversion, the syncrude undergoes additional refinement in a refinery to yield jet fuel, diesel, or gasoline.

Solar tower built

February 2024 | Synhelion has completed the construction of the solar tower. The tower of DAWN is about 20 meters high, and it houses our key innovations to produce solar fuel: the receiver, the reactor, and the thermal energy storage. The tower is uniquely configured to facilitate efficient fuel production. Positioned facing north, its design minimizes shadow casting on the mirror field.