Solar fuel maker Synhelion buys CSP specialist Heliokon

Swiss solar fuel producer Synhelion SA has acquired German concentrated solar power (CSP) technology company Heliokon GmbH to expand into the neighbouring country and add complementary technologies to its portfolio.

Bergisch Gladbach-based Heliokon, created as a spin-off of the German Aerospace Centre, uses highly concentrating solar technology to develop and produce solutions for solar thermal power plants. Its technology is applied also in the areas of solar process heat, thermal energy storage, building management and water supply.

The technologies of the two companies are complementary as Heliokon focuses on the development of highly concentrating mirror systems while Synhelion uses energy derived from highly concentrated sunlight to convert carbon dioxide into fuel and thus produce sustainable fuels such as gasoline, diesel, and kerosene.

The acquisition will strengthen Synhelion's expertise in the area of concentrating mirrors known as heliostats and lead to the faster scaling of its technology.

Lugano-based Synhelion was founded as a spin-off from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in 2016. So far, the company has raised CHF 16 million (USD 17.2m/EUR 14.8m) in a Series A funding round and aims to produce 700,000 tonnes of fuel annually by 2030.

(CHF 1 = USD 1.077/EUR 0.923)

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