SPIN members Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) and Synhelion have just taken a major step in using Power-to-X technology to defossilize air travel with Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF).

Key Facts

  • On 24 July 2025, SWISS received its first 190 L delivery of solar crude from Synhelion’s DAWN plant in Switzerland.
  • That crude was then refined into certified Jet A-1 fuel at a refinery in northern Germany and blended into SWISS’s regular supply at Hamburg Airport.
  • For the maiden Hamburg–Zurich flight, roughly 7 percent of the fuel load was solar-derived SAF.

What is Power-to-X?

In our context Power-to-X describes processes that convert renewable energy into molecular energy carriers like hydrogen, ammonia or recycled-carbon-based fuels or chemicals. In this case, Synhelion uses concentrated sunlight to drive a chemical reaction that splits water and CO₂ into synthesis gas, then synthesizes it into a solar crude. This solar crude is a perfect drop-in feedstock for existing refineries.

Why Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) matters

  • SAF is made from non-fossil sources and can cut lifecycle greenhouse-gas emissions by more than 70 percent compared to conventional jet kerosene.
  • Because it meets the ASTM D1655 standard, SAF can be blended straight into existing aircraft tanks and airport infrastructure—no engine modifications needed.
  • By partnering early (since 2020) and investing in Synhelion (2022), SWISS sends a strong signal to scale up production and drive down costs.

The path to large-scale rollout

  1. Certification: Synhelion is working on EU sustainability approvals under the Renewable Energy Directive.
  2. Scale-up: Production at the DAWN plant will ramp up toward a commercial launch by 2027.
  3. Market signals: Long-term offtake agreements from the Lufthansa Group will help establish a reliable SAF market.

This collaboration shows how Power-to-X and Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) can work hand-in-hand to defossilize the aviation sector—using sunshine to power tomorrow’s flights with clean, drop-in jet fuel.

Source: https://synhelion.com/news/swiss-becomes-worlds-first-airline-to-integrate-synhelion-solar-fuel-into-its-flight-operations

However, although the technology is there and the industry is ready to produce, regulators are still putting many counterproductive obstacles in the way to scaling up to mass-production of eFuels. Protecting the climate would be so easy, if the political will was there and regulations would be based on reality instead of ideology.