Zurich Airport and Synhelion join forces for solar fuels

Flughafen Zürich AG has been working with solar fuel pioneer Synhelion since 2020. The two companies have now signed a five-year purchase agreement for solar diesel, the partners announced in a joint press release. From 2027, Flughafen Zürich AG will purchase 30,000 liters of solar diesel from Synhelion every year. The Lugano-based company plans to produce the sustainable fuel at its first commercial plant, RISE, in Spain.

As a first step, Flughafen Zürich AG intends to use solar diesel to power its passenger buses on the airport premises. When these are electrified, it will power special vehicles that cannot be converted to electric drive. "It is our declared goal to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions within the company by 2040 - without offsetting", says Emanuel Fleuti, Head of Sustainability and Environment at Flughafen Zürich AG, in the press release. "Synhelion's fuel is an important piece of the puzzle here."

Philipp Furler, CEO and co-founder of Synhelion, is convinced that "the demand for innovative solutions to reduce CO2 emissions" will continue to increase in the future. With the purchase agreement, Synhelion and Flughafen Zürich AG are "working together on scaling up solar fuels and thus making an active contribution to the energy transition". ce/hs