A Swiss company plans to build a large renewable fuel plant in Tan-Tan, with a planned production capacity of 100,000 tonnes a year. Synhelion signed a memorandum of understanding with Moroccan authorities on 8 September for the project in Tan-Tan province, in the Guelmim-Oued Noun region. The company has reserved land for the plant and created a local subsidiary, Synhelion Morocco. The subsidiary has also received Casablanca Finance City status.
The project is still at an early stage. Synhelion has not yet given details of the cost, construction date, engineering partners or the amount of renewable energy the plant will need.
It has also not announced any agreements with airlines, shipping companies or fuel distributors to buy the fuel.
Gianluca Ambrosetti, Synhelion’s co-CEO and co-founder, said:
“Morocco’s exceptional renewable energy resources and its clear industrial strategy make it an ideal location for scaling our synthetic fuel technology.”
The plant is expected to make renewable fuels that can be used in existing engines and fuel systems. These could include sustainable aviation fuel, diesel, petrol and methanol.
Synhelion uses high-temperature renewable heat to turn water and carbon dioxide from biological sources into synthetic fuel. The company says its process can produce fuel without major changes to existing engines, storage facilities or transport systems.
That could make the technology useful for aviation, shipping and heavy vehicles, where switching fully to electric power remains difficult.
Synhelion already operates a demonstration plant called DAWN in Germany. The company is also developing RISE, a commercial plant expected to produce about 1,000 tonnes of fuel a year.
The planned Tan-Tan plant would be about 100 times larger than RISE.
Synhelion is targeting a production cost of less than €1,000 per tonne once its technology reaches commercial scale.
The company already has agreements with several transport and aviation businesses. Swiss airline SWISS has signed a long-term deal to buy Synhelion’s solar fuel from 2027. Agreements also involve Zurich Airport and AMAG Group.
Karim Zidane, the Moroccan minister delegate for investment, said:
“By building on the strong renewable energy potential of the Guelmim-Oued Noun region, this project has the potential to contribute to the emergence of new value chains, create local economic opportunities, and strengthen the Kingdom’s position as a competitive platform for green industry.”
The project could create a new renewable fuel industry in the region and supply both local and foreign markets.
The next steps are engineering studies, financing and a final investment decision. Construction has not yet started.
