Sasol ecoFT anticipates commercial volumes of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) produced using its Fischer-Tropsch technology as early as 2026, promoting the development of Power-to-Liquid (PtL) fuels globally, and is exploring the development of a green hydrogen hub in southern Africa.
Sasol ecoFT senior vice president Helge Sachs communicated with Argus ahead of the sustainable aviation futures congress in Amsterdam to discuss Sasol's FT SAF technology, the role of PtL fuels in meeting rising SAF demand, and the future of decarbonisation in global aviation.
When does Sasol envisage uptake of its Fischer-Tropsch technology to produce SAF on a commercial scale? What locations are targeted for FT-SAF production?
We use the FT process to produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), which is a rather complex nomenclature used for different sustainable aviation fuels, to produce SAF via either biomass-to-gas-to-liquid or power-to-liquid.
Sasol ecoFT aims to produce SAF in many regions. With the EU, UK and North America probably being the earliest regions, we anticipate the Middle East, Australasia, southeast Asia, Japan and Africa to also gain momentum very soon.
Our technology is ready today to produce SAF. However, these facilities take some time to develop and construct. We therefore anticipate that first large volumes of SAF via the FT route will likely be available from 2026.
What feedstocks are used for the Sasol FT production pathway?
Water could be one of the main feedstocks for the hydrogen that is needed in the process. Carbon feedstocks could range from industry point emissions of CO2 to municipal solid waste or forest residues from the paper and pulp industry.
Importantly, the carbon sources must be classified as sustainable carbon sources. In the long term Direct Air Capture (DAC) would allow us to use the CO2 from the atmosphere as the most sustainable carbon source. However, the commercially viable use of DAC will still need significant time.
How does the technology work?
In the purest (highest carbon mitigation potential) form of SAF production, called Power-to-Liquids process, water and renewable electricity are used to produce hydrogen. The hydrogen is combined with a sustainable form of CO2 in a process whereby synthesis gas (or syngas) is produced.
This is a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen. The syngas is then fed into the Fischer-Tropsch process where hydrocarbons are produced. These hydrocarbons are then further refined to finally produce the sustainable aviation fuel.
What challenges exist in establishing FT-SAF production and what are the advantages of this pathway compared with other SAF production processes?
The main challenges are related to operating costs (cost of feedstocks) and capital costs. The energy cost associated with converting the water into hydrogen and carbon dioxide into carbon monoxide is a critical component of the overall cost of producing the sustainable fuel. So, the cost of the renewable energy used to do this is of paramount importance.
Furthermore, the capital costs of the electrolysers (the equipment turning the water into hydrogen and oxygen) is also high at this nascent stage of the industry. We expect both renewable energy costs as well as electrolyser costs to reduce significantly during the next decade, which will assist a lot to enhance the affordability of SAF.
The advantage of the FT based pathway, when used in conjunction with Direct Air Capture of CO2, is that it can produce truly carbon neutral fuels and in this way enable the aviation industry to completely decarbonise.
Sasol is studying the feasibility of a green hydrogen and ammonia export hub in South Africa. Will it explore other uses of green hydrogen in aviation besides its FT production process?
Sasol is exploring opportunities in southern Africa, which is well endowed with renewable energy to produce and use green hydrogen, potentially directly, but also in processes like ammonia and methanol production.
And these products can then also be exported as energy carriers to other parts of the world. Furthermore, the green hydrogen can also be used in Sasol's existing facilities to decarbonise our existing operations.
The challenges are similar to the ones described above, i.e. large amounts of low cost renewable energy needs to be produced and this, together with the electrolysers, require significant capital expenditure.
The hydrogen could of course as well be used to fuel hydrogen aircraft, as announced by e.g. Airbus for entry into service by 2035, albeit limited to regional aircraft with low numbers of passengers.
When do you expect large volumes of PtL to be available in the market and what support from governments and institutions is needed to scale-up this technology?
While PtL is currently a nascent pathway, it is expected to play the biggest role of all pathways available to the decarbonisation of the aviation industry.
Commercial volumes of PtL SAF will become available through 2026-27 and large volumes are likely to become available before the turn of the decade. Blending mandates that incentivise the production of PtL SAF and mechanisms that allow early implementation of the technology, protecting investments for at least 15 to 20 years, to allow for reasonable returns on investments, are required to bring momentum to this industry.
The European Commission has made some great strides in recent months to enable the industry, but further enhancement and refinement of the mechanism are required to really enable the industry to pick up at scale.
Which international markets will drive demand for PtL fuels?
The EU, UK and North America are probably the earliest regions for high demand, but we anticipate the Middle East, Australasia, southeast Asia, Japan and Africa to also gain momentum very soon.
