Synhelion, a Swiss solar-to-fuels startup, has launched DAWN, the world's first industrial-scale plant to produce synthetic fuels from solar heat, in Jülich, Germany.

The DAWN plant features a 20 m solar tower, a mirror field, a solar receiver, a thermochemical reactor, and a thermal energy storage system to enable cost-effective solar fuel production.

The DAWN plant will begin operations in 2024 and produce several thousand liters per year of solar fuels, including solar kerosene, solar gasoline, and solar diesel, which are fully compatible with existing fuel infrastructure.

The company will begin constructing its first commercial plant in Spain in 2025. The plant will produce 1,000 tons of fuel per year. Within 10 years, the company aims to reach an annual production volume of approximately 1 million tons of solar fuel.

Analyst QuickTake: Earlier this month, the company partnered with Pilatus Aircraft , a Switzerland-based aircraft manufacturer, to use Synhelion’s solar fuels in its operations and offer them to its customers in the future. As part of this initiative, Pilatus has become a shareholder in Synhelion. The fuel produced by DAWN will also be made available to Pilatus' entire customer fleet within the next decade.