Lake Lucerne Navigation Company (SGV) AG, a Swiss transportation company, has signed a five-year fuel offtake agreement with cleantech company Synhelion. SGV will purchase nearly 100 tons of solar fuel annually to power its fleet. This will make SGV the first navigation company in the world to use Synhelion’s solar fuel.

SGV’s iconic steamboats, integral to Lake Lucerne’s landscape for more than a century, were originally powered by coal and later by fossil heating oil. With Synhelion’s drop-in solar fuels, they can transition to renewable energy without any engine modifications. SGV has signed a five-year offtake agreement for solar fuels from plant RISE, Synhelion’s first commercial plant in Spain, which is scheduled to begin production from 2027.

This offtake agreement is part of SGV’s broader commitment to sustainability and aligns with Synhelion’s mission to contribute to a net-zero transportation sector by replacing fossil fuels with renewable solar fuels.

From 2027, SGV aims to power its historic steamboat Gallia fully with solar fuel as part of its new exclusive offering “Legends of Lake Lucerne”.

In June 2024, Synhelion inaugurated DAWN, the world’s first industrial solar fuel plant in Jülich, Germany, proving the technology’s readiness for large-scale production. Looking ahead, Synhelion plans to build its first commercial solar fuel plant RISE in Spain, with a target production capacity of 1,000 tons of solar fuel per year. Plant RISE will produce renewable kerosene, diesel, and gasoline and will supply pioneering customers from various transportation sectors. This commitment from SGV follows the recent offtake agreement with Pilatus Aircraft.

Synhelion uses solar energy to convert CO₂ into carbon-neutral solar fuels. Solar radiation is reflected by a mirror field, concentrated onto the receiver, and converted into high-temperature process heat. The generated heat is fed to the thermochemical reactor that produces syngas, a mixture of H₂ and CO. The syngas is then processed by standard gas-to-liquids technology into fuels, such as jet fuel, gasoline, or diesel. Excess heat is saved in the thermal energy storage to enable continuous 24/7 operation.