Pilatus and Synhelion start cooperation in the field of fuels produced from solar energy

Pilatus and Synhelion will soon begin a strategic collaboration aimed at accelerating the scaling of photovoltaic fuels for the aerospace industry. Pilatus intends to use Synhelion solar fuels for its own operations and, in the medium term, also offer them to its customers. With this in mind, Pilatus became a shareholder in Synhelion, which underlies its commitment to proactively defossilize air traffic.

Synhelion was established in 2016 as a spin-off of ETH Zurich. The company’s goal is to replace fossil fuels with renewable solar fuels, thereby helping to decarbonize the tourism industry.

Pilatus aircraft are already certified to use sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), which is currently produced mainly from biomass or waste. However, the latest calculations indicate that this type of fuel will never be available in sufficient quantities, neither now nor in the future.

Synhelion is currently building the world’s first industrial photovoltaic fuel plant in Germany – the first commercial installation is planned to be built in Spain from 2025. During this process, fuels are produced from solar energy. Pilatus hopes to use Synhelion solar fuel in its own aircraft fleet before offering the same fuel to its customers as a proactive way to de-fossilize air travel.

As part of the partnership, Pilatus also becomes a shareholder in Synhelion, thus strengthening its long-term commitment to the sustainable transformation of air travel.

Hansueli Loosli, CEO of Pilatus, emphasizes: “Pilatus has been committed to sustainability and energy efficiency for many years – for example in our production processes and new buildings. We firmly believe that Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) will be a sustainable feature of aviation operations in the future and in this way we are making another important contribution.”

Markus Bucher, CEO of Pilatus, adds: “We are convinced of the value of solar fuel technology – these fuels are the best way to descale air travel as quickly as possible. We are delighted to play a pioneering role together with Synhelion and make an important contribution to sustainable development in the aviation industry.”

Philipp Furler, co-CEO and co-founder of Synhelion, comments: “We are extremely proud to have Pilatus as a partner and shareholder. Over the next few years, our full focus will be on scaling our fuels globally. Together, we aim to introduce sustainable solar fuels to the entire Pilatus customer fleet over the next ten years.

This press release has been prepared and distributed by Pilatus.