Synhelion solar gasoline debuts in a vintage Audi
Source: Hagerty
A 1985 Audi Sport Quattro has become the first car in the world to run a new solar gasoline, developed by Synhelion.
The Swiss company put the Quattro through its paces on the famous Furka Pass, where a sinewy sequence of curves reaches a height of almost 8000 feet in the Swiss Alps.
Synhelion says that the Audi is “first vehicle in history to run on solar gasoline,” although the firm has previously run a Harley Davidson motorcycle on its special sun juice, and it also makes jet fuel and diesel. Still, it’s certainly a stylish way to show off this new “drop in” alternative to fossil fuel.
The solar fuel has been designed so that internal combustion engines can use it without requiring any modification and it can also be mixed with regular pump gas, and use the same infrastructure for distribution as we’re all so used to.
Synhelion’s sustainable fuel manufacturing process starts with biogenic waste from agriculture, which serves as the source of carbon. This waste gets broken down by bacteria in a process called anaerobic digestion, which creates a mix of methane and carbon dioxide. That gas is then superheated to 2012 degrees Fahrenheit using solar electricity which transforms it into syngas—a blend of carbon monoxide and hydrogen. This is liquified to create the solar fuel which was pumped into the Quattro.
Synhelion claims that its solar gasoline contains fewer impurities than fossil fuels and therefore burns more cleanly. It’s also almost CO2-neutral, “emitting only as much CO2 during use as was used in production,” says the company.
“This is a huge milestone,” says Philipp Furler, co-founder of Synhelion. “For the first time, we’ve shown that solar fuel can power a car in real-world conditions. It proves that our technology is ready for the road, and that even iconic internal combustion engines can have a role in a green future.”
The fuel was manufactured at Synhelion’s plant in Jülich, Germany, which opened in 2024. The company is building a second facility in Spain and says that it is targeting a capacity of one million tons of solar fuel per year by 2033.
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