Switzerland’s emerging clean fuel sector recorded two significant advances in December 2025, as Metafuels and Synhelion — both Zurich-based, both working on novel pathways to synthetic sustainable aviation fuel — hit major project milestones on the same week.
Metafuels has awarded a FEED (front-end engineering and design) contract to Houston-based engineering giant McDermott for its Turbe project — a first-of-its-kind synthetic eSAF production facility to be built at the Evos terminal in the Port of Rotterdam. The FEED represents the final engineering phase before a Final Investment Decision (FID) can be taken. Under the contract, McDermott will define and optimise the plant’s technical specification and produce cost estimates that will underpin the investment case.
“Selecting McDermott for this crucial engineering phase marks a defining moment in our journey towards scalable e-SAF production,” said Saurabh Kapoor, CEO of Metafuels. “With implementation of our demonstration plant at PSI and Turbe advancing towards FID, we are steadily industrialising our aerobrew technology.”
Selecting McDermott for this crucial engineering phase marks a defining moment in our journey towards scalable e-SAF production. — Saurabh Kapoor, CEO, Metafuels
Turbe will be the first commercial deployment of Metafuels’ aerobrew methanol-to-jet process, designed to convert renewable methanol into drop-in jet fuel with up to 90% lower lifecycle emissions than conventional kerosene. The facility is initially planned to produce 12,000 tonnes of eSAF per day, with a second phase to scale tenfold to 120,000 litres per day.
Meanwhile, Synhelion — whose solar fuel technology was developed at ETH Zurich — announced that Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) has signed a binding five-year offtake agreement to purchase at least 200 tonnes of solar jet fuel annually from 2027. The agreement makes SWISS the first airline to sign a long-term offtake with Synhelion, following the airline’s landmark flight operations in July 2025 — the first time any airline had used solar fuel in regular commercial service.
Synhelion’s process harnesses renewable solar energy and biogenic waste as a carbon source, converting them into synthetic crude oil (syncrude), which is then co-processed with fossil crude at an existing refinery into certified Jet-A1 fuel. Part of the fuel purchased by SWISS will be resold to logistics provider Kuehne+Nagel for use in air freight transported via Swiss WorldCargo.
“The partnership with Synhelion is a significant step for SWISS on the path to decarbonising our flight operations,” said Jens Fehlinger, CEO of SWISS. “SAF is a core element of our sustainability strategy.”
Together, these announcements illustrate the breadth of advanced SAF pathways now approaching commercial readiness in Europe — and the growing role of Swiss cleantech in the global eSAF supply chain.
