Syntholene Fires Up World-First Geothermal-SOEC Hydrogen Plant in Iceland
Syntholene Energy Corp has completed construction of what it describes as the world’s first geothermal-integrated Solid Oxide Electrolyzer Cell (SOEC) demonstration facility, located in Húsavík, Iceland — finishing approximately six months ahead of its original schedule and under budget. The milestone, announced on 22 June 2026, positions the Canadian-listed company as the first to deploy this type of thermal-hybrid architecture in a real operating environment.
The facility at Húsavík integrates geothermal heat infrastructure with high-temperature SOEC hydrogen production, thermal energy recovery systems, and supporting balance-of-plant equipment, and was completed in just 69 days from the date of permit issuance. The key ambition behind the project is to reduce the electricity consumption typically required for hydrogen production by substituting a portion of the electrical energy input with geothermal heat — an approach the company believes could cut the levelised cost of hydrogen for synthetic fuel by as much as 70% compared with conventional electrolysis routes.
The plant will now be used to test the full integration of the thermal-hybrid architecture with Syntholene’s proprietary SOEC technology, with the aim of producing synthetic aviation fuel (eSAF) from geothermally-produced hydrogen. Chief Executive Dan Sutton described the pace of delivery as rare in the energy sector, stating that the company had now graduated from concept and prototyping into real-world operations. Effects testing and data gathering are expected to begin shortly, with the company targeting publication of its initial efficiency and technoeconomic results as early as the fourth quarter of 2026.
Iceland’s flag carrier Icelandair signed a non-binding expression of interest in January 2026 to potentially take up to 20,000 tonnes of eSAF produced at the Húsavík plant over ten years, subject to price and production scale requirements being met. The Dynelectro-supplied 250 kW dynamic electrolyser unit, dispatched in mid-June, forms the core of the SOEC system and was reported to have produced one tonne of hydrogen during factory acceptance testing ahead of delivery.
