Electricity and Control November 2025

Control systems + automation

PC-based control for solar-powered synthetic fuel production Synhelion AG, based in Switzerland, produces sustainable, synthetic fuels using solar energy. In summer 2024, the first industrial demonstration plant, DAWN, was put into operation in Jülich. Automated and monitored with PC-based process control technology from Beckho‡, this represents an important milestone on the way to a large scale industrial plant. Stefan Ziegler of Beckho‡ Automation reports on this application.

I n the DAWN industrial demonstration plant, Synhelion uses the ‘sun-to-liquid’ process with concentrated solar thermal energy (CST) for the production of solar fuels. The plant consists of four central components: the heliostats (mirrors), the receiver with 600 kW thermal output, the thermochemical reactor, and the thermal energy storage unit. Over 200 heliostats focus the solar radiation onto the receiver – that is a combustion chamber at the top of the tower in which a heat transfer medium is heated to over 1 500°C for a sustained period. The process heat generated in this way is fed into a thermochemical reactor, which produces a synthesised gas from a RED-certified carbon source (CO 2 +CH 4 ) and water. This gas is then turned into fuels using industrial processes. “Our focus is on kerosene, diesel, and gasoline so we can supply the transportation sector with sustainable fuels,” says Adrian González, Head Engineer for Process Automation at Synhelion. The advantage of these fuels is that the existing infrastructure (tank farms, transporters, dispensers) can continue to be used. Instead of the usual kerosene, one of the tanks will contain the eco-fuel in this case, to be added in accordance with the regulations. “This is much easier and more e¤icient than converting a fleet of aircra§ to hydrogen,” says González. The excess energy from the receiver is fed into a thermal energy storage unit developed by Synhelion and can be fed back into the process at any time. González explains that the

ceramic storage tank for the process heat extends over two levels of the solar tower, indicating the dimensions of the plant. “It fulfils an important function – ensuring continuous operation independent of solar radiation.” Instead of the heliostats, an electric heating system can also be used, one which draws its energy from photovoltaic systems or wind turbines, for example. “This is particularly relevant when there is an oversupply of renewable energy in the distribution grid,” says Iesse Schneider, the programmer responsible for the plant, explaining the flexible approach to energy supply. Sophisticated control technology Since autumn 2024, the Synhelion plant has been producing synthetic crude oil (syncrude) which is almost identical to its fossil fuel counterpart. The entire manufacturing process is controlled and monitored by around 1 000 sensors and actuators networked via EtherCAT, with TwinCAT as the process control system and a C6030 ultra-compact Industrial PC. “Despite the many sensors and even more data points, the cycle time of the TwinCAT runtime remains well below 10 milliseconds and gives us more than enough flexibility for tests and expansions,” says González. The plant in Jülich is the industrial-scale test system which Synhelion is using to test, validate, and optimise the process control of various end products on larger plants. Consequently, the process control technology needs to be flexible and easy to expand. “With PC-based control and the scalable hardware, the control technology and I/O level can be adapted flexibly to requirements and additional

© BeckhoŽ

© BeckhoŽ

Le : In the DAWN industrial test facility, Synhelion produces sustainable fuel from solar energy using PC-based control as a process control system. Right: The flexible topology options of EtherCAT in connection with the EK1122 2-port EtherCAT junctions and the EK1521 1-port EtherCAT fibre optic junctions (right) facilitate the connection of 1 000 sensors and actuators distributed over six levels.

8 Electricity + Control NOVEMBER 2025