Synhelion receives new funding for solar fuel technology

Solar fuel specialist Synhelion has raised CHF22m (US$23.7m) in another successful financing round. The funds were primarily provided by existing investors, including CEMEX and CEMEX Ventures, CEMEX’s corporate venture capital and open innovation unit, as well as selected new strategic investors. The proceeds of the investment round will accelerate Synhelion’s growth and support the scaling and commercialisation of its unique technology. 

Synhelion’s existing and new investors are world leading companies with outstanding track records and technological excellence, such as CEMEX, the SMS group, Eni, AMAG Group, and SWISS. In addition to the important funding from the investors, the invaluable and extensive know-how and technology portfolio of the investors creates significant synergies that enable Synhelion to accelerate the industrialisation and global roll-out of its solar fuel technology. Synhelion’s solar fuels are a crucial solution in combatting climate change as they significantly reduce net CO₂ emissions by directly replacing fossil fuels. The company’s drop-in fuels can be blended into the existing fuel distribution network and are fully compatible with existing vehicles and machinery. 

By successfully producing syngas on an industrial scale using solar heat, Synhelion reached the last decisive technical milestone for the industrial production of sustainable solar fuels in August 2022. Shortly after, the company started construction on DAWN – the world’s first industrial plant to produce sustainable fuels using solar heat. DAWN will be the first facility to demonstrate the entire process on an industrial scale. This recent additional investment will enable the company to build DAWN and take the next steps for scaling its fuel production, including the technical design and construction planning of its first commercial plant in Spain. 

In February this year, Synhelion also achieved a breakthrough in cement production with solar energy together with CEMEX. The two companies successfully connected the clinker production process with the startup’s solar receiver in order to produce solar clinker. Solar clinker, which replaces traditional, high CO₂ emitting clinker, supplants fossil fuels entirely with solar energy, and represents a critical milestone in CEMEX’s journey to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.