Can you imagine a plane running on liquid sunlight?
Lufthansa group has formed an Alliance with synhelion, a company that has mastered the way to use solar energy to convert CO2 into synthetic fuel called syngas.
But What is syngas? It is a liquid fuel with the same properties as fossil fuels, but it is produced artificially. The genius of it is that they contain less impurities than fossil fuels which means that they emit less noxious gases when they burn.
And its manufacturers say it can be used as a replacement fuel in almost all types of transportation, including ships, trucks, planes and cars, it produces only as much carbon dioxide as went into manufacturing it, helping to cut aviation emissions.
The fuel is produced using concentrated solar heat to manufacture syngas, which can then be synthesized into kerosene using standard industrial processes. This sun-to-liquid fuel closes the fuel carbon cycle: when combusted, it will only produce as much CO2 as went into its manufacture. The new fuel thus makes a major contribution to effectively decarbonizing air transport.
Synhelion is currently building a vast “mirror field” in Germany. Those mirrors reflect the sun’s rays into a receiver that converts the light into heat. That heat is then transmitted into a thermochemical reactor that heats steam and CO2 to around 1,500C until a new liquid forms. That liquid is syngas.
This they say is the first step towards making the aviation industry more sustainable through carbon neutral, fossil free flying. The sun seems to be shining bright for an eco-friendly flying future with the ecologically variable substitute for fossil fuel. The carbon neutral solar kerosine is the way to go and Swiss is set to become the first customer for solar Kerosine in 2023. Philipp Furler, Synhelion’s co-founder and CEO, states that the concept of a globalised world connected by climate friendly mobility is paving the way for commercial fuel production in Spain as well. The use of these energy efficient, non-polluting sustainable fuels will help reduce the Co2 emission of the Swiss Airways making them pioneers in the path of utilizing long term solar fuels.
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