Saipem awarded pre-FEED contract for 30,000-tonne synthetic fuel plant

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On September 1, Synhelion AG awarded Saipem a pre-front-end engineering design (pre-FEED) contract for a commercial-scale synthetic fuel plant in Germany. The project is planned for construction at RWE's Chemiepark Knapsack industrial site in Hürth, North Rhine-Westphalia, with a designed annual output of approximately 30,000 tonnes of renewable synthetic fuels compliant with the EU Renewable Energy Directive (RED). The primary product will be sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), alongside synthetic diesel and synthetic gasoline.

Under the contract, Saipem will prepare a multi-disciplinary pre-FEED engineering package, define the overall technical configuration of the plant, and be responsible for the engineering integration between Synhelion's proprietary fuel production technology and the downstream fuel synthesis and product upgrading processes. The scope of work also covers the required utilities, offsite facilities, and interface design with RWE's existing site infrastructure.

Synhelion has reserved land for the project at the RWE Hürth-Knapsack site. The project will leverage the existing industrial park's pipelines and major utility facilities, with RWE responsible for providing site infrastructure and participating in site development and permitting-related work. Existing industrial facilities at the site can supply steam and electricity to the surrounding technology and chemical parks.

The engineering deliverables resulting from this pre-FEED phase will serve as the technical basis for project permitting, the subsequent FEED, and the final investment decision (FID). According to Synhelion's current development roadmap, the project remains in the early engineering phase of a commercial plant; only after the completion of FEED and the FID will it proceed to the subsequent EPC phase. Construction has not yet commenced.

The Hürth project is a separate commercial project from Synhelion's project in Jülich. Synhelion currently operates the DAWN industrial-scale demonstration plant in Jülich and was selected in July for the "Produktives.NRW" funding program in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, to build another commercial demonstration synthetic fuel facility there. The project for which Saipem is undertaking engineering work, however, is located at the RWE Hürth-Knapsack site.