Synhelion agrees takeover of Heliokon

Synhelion is fully integrating the German firm Heliokon into its company structure. The spin-off from the German Aerospace Center (DLR) will in future trade as Synhelion Germany GmbH. According to a press release, the German firm will bring technology to the table that perfectly complements that developed by Synhelion. In this way, Synhelion will be in a position to offer a complete system for the production of solar fuels in its role as an international company. Moreover, the competencies gained will allow the technology to be scaled at a faster pace.

The solar fuels in the form of gasoline, diesel, and kerosene developed by Synhelion are compatible with conventional internal combustion engines and jet engines. To this end, the company based in Lugano in the canton of Ticino uses highly concentrated sunlight. As such, the company’s primary focus is on solar receiver, thermochemical reactor and thermal energy storage technologies.

Heliokon’s expertise centers on the area of highly concentrating mirror systems (heliostats) that enable high process temperatures. This exclusive know-how will now expand Synhelion’s own expertise. As a spin-off from the DLR, Heliokon also possesses extensive experience in the smart, automated control of these heliostats.

“The sun is the largest source of energy on Earth, with practically inexhaustible potential”, explains Patrick Hilger, Managing Director at Heliokon, in the press release. He adds: “Our technology makes this energy usable for people. By joining forces with Synhelion, we are taking the next step to effectively decarbonize transportation”.