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Sasol bids to fill growing demand for ‘sustainable’ jet fuel

Sasol bids to fill growing demand for ‘sustainable’ jet fuel
From January, new regulations make it compulsory for all jet fuel suppliers to blend a certain proportion of e-kerosene and other “sustainable aviation fuel” into the fuels delivered to EU airports. ( Graph: IATA )
Tony Carnie
By Tony Carnie
13 Oct 2024
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Faced with stiff monetary penalties at European airports, the aviation industry is pushing for a major ramp-up in the production of climate-friendly jet fuel. The South African synthetic fuels giant, Sasol, hopes to benefit from this increased global demand for ‘sustainable fuel’.

Sasol is planning to cash in on the growing global demand for lower-emission jet fuels, by producing up to 650,000 tonnes of “green” jet fuel annually at its Secunda and Sasolburg synfuel refineries.

The company has confirmed plans to start producing large volumes of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) by using new solar and wind farms in South Africa to process hydrogen and recycled carbon at one or both of its existing synfuel refineries in Mpumalanga and the Free State.

International aviation now accounts for nearly 3% of all CO2 emissions from human activities and – along with the global shipping industry which adds another 3% to global emissions – has come under increasing pressure to reduce these emissions.

However, jet aircraft remain almost completely dependent on fossil fuel kerosene and the aviation industry argues that lower-emission SAF remains the most viable route to reduce emissions until “zero emission” battery or hydrogen-powered aircraft can be commercialised over the coming decades. The industry estimates that SAF generates between 60% to 80% lower carbon dioxide emissions.

However, current global SAF supply from used cooking oils and fats is barely 1.5 Mt, accounting for just 0.53% of aviation’s fuel needs.

Sasol, which has been negotiating with several European government and industry groups for at least two years, outlined its ambitions to fill this gap in supplies at the inaugural Hamburg Sustainability Conference in Germany on 8 October.

Hydrogen-based sustainable aviation fuel in two to three years


sasol green jet fuel pillay Senior Sasol executive Sarushen Pillay speaks at a panel session on green aviation in Hamburg, Germany, on 8 October 2024. (Photo: Hamburg Sustainability Conference)



Senior company executive Sarushen Pillay told the conference that Sasol had been producing synthetic liquid fuels from coal for more than 70 years, using German-developed Fischer-Tropsch technology.

Subject to regulatory approvals in the European Union, the company was confident that it could start producing significant quantities of hydrogen-based SAF for the global market “quite quickly”, possibly within two or three years.

In a subsequent interview with Daily Maverick, Pillay said the energy group now has 700MW of renewable energy projects at various stages of construction – including a 100MW solar farm near Parys and the newly commissioned 69MW Msenge Emoyeni Wind Farm in the Eastern Cape.

sasol Msenge Emoyeni Wind Farm One of Sasol’s first large-scale renewable energy projects, the Msenge Emoyeni Wind Farm. Located in the Eastern Cape, the 69MW wind farm has 16 turbines generating power that is ‘wheeled’ through the national grid to the Sasolburg refinery in the Free State. (Photo: Sasol.)



As part of its drive to produce SAF for the global market, Sasol signed a joint venture agreement with the Danish-based Topsoe technology group last year.

Known as Zaffar, the 50/50 joint venture between Sasol and Topsoe aims to develop and market new SAF fuels “derived primarily from non-fossil feedstock, utilising green hydrogen, sustainable sources of CO2 and/or biomass with a specific focus on Sasol’s Fischer-Tropsch and Topsoe’s related technologies”.

Hamburg Declaration on green aviation


Last week in Germany,  the proposal was taken a step further when Sasol and the Federal Republic of Germany signed the Hamburg Declaration on Green Aviation along with eight other signatories that include Hamburg Airport, Deutsche Post and the Mabanaft energy group.

The ten signatories have agreed to work together to develop “Green Aviation Hubs” and to gradually defossilise air transport.

“In view of the enormous quantities of SAF required, the previous investments in production to date are far from sufficient to provide this. In addition to the blending quotas of synthetic fuels in Europe and other countries, further measures and instruments are required to stimulate private investment and support market development,” the declaration states.

It was therefore important to align and “if necessary, adapt the necessary regulatory framework to the requirements of a globally developing market”.

While Sasol’s ambitions to supply much-needed greener fuels will be welcomed by the aviation industry in particular, the initiative will also raise concerns about the potential risks of “greenwashing” fossil fuels into new environment-friendly products – as well as prolonging the life of two major fossil fuel refineries and perpetuating high levels of air pollution around Sasolburg and Secunda.

According to the Centre for Environmental Rights, Secunda is the world’s biggest single point-source emitter of greenhouse gases. Along with Sasolburg, the plant is also a major source of hydrogen sulphide and other harmful air pollutants that are transported over long distances to pollute the air of surrounding residential areas, including Johannesburg.

Pillay, however, disputes the concern that Sasol could launder fossil fuel products into its proposed SAF product stream, arguing that the certification of these new products would be audited by bodies such as the Swiss-based Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB)

Nevertheless, current European regulations promoted the construction of new green hydrogen plants and there appeared to be “no room for flexibility” in accepting green hydrogen or green carbon produced at existing plants.

Fast transition could have impact on jobs 


However, Pillay suggests that existing South African plants can be transitioned gradually towards green fuels, while also producing traditional fossil-derived products.

Transitioning too fast could have “devastating impacts”, he told the Hamburg conference, noting that the two Sasol refineries and coal division currently support about 20,000 direct jobs and about 500,000 indirect jobs.

The company also supplied about 30% of South Africa’s liquid fuels, as well as a much higher percentage of chemicals such as cyanide and significant quantities of fertilisers, explosives and plastics.

“We are also about to commission South Africa’s largest green hydrogen facility,” he said, adding that Sasol had received support in Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark for its SAF proposals and was hoping that more certainty about regulatory approvals would emerge over the next month or two following the confirmation of the new commissioners-designate by the European Parliament.

According to the Brussels-based decarbonisation action group Transport and Environment (T&E), major airlines have enjoyed preferential treatment from European regulators for several years and continue to lobby governments to weaken the EU’s sustainable aviation fuels policy.

“They (airlines) make crowd-pleasing pledges of net-zero emissions, which is music to the ears of their investors and customers. But in the background, they send the IAG (International Airlines Group) and IATA (International Air Transport Association) to do their dirty work: lobby to weaken the EU’s climate package so they can continue to pollute for free,” argues T&E aviation manager Jo Dardenne.

Starting from January 2025, however, the ReFuelEU regulations make it compulsory for jet fuel suppliers to blend a certain proportion of SAF into the jet fuel they deliver to EU airports, starting at 2% in 2030 and progressively rising to around 34% in 2040.

iata green jet fuel From January, new regulations make it compulsory for all jet fuel suppliers to blend a certain proportion of e-kerosene and other “sustainable aviation fuel” into the fuels delivered to EU airports. ( Graph: IATA )



Fuel suppliers who fail to meet their quotas will face penalties of at least twice the price difference between fossil kerosene and SAF.

According to T&E’s estimates, e-kerosene (which is generated from hydrogen and CO₂) could be sold for between €4,900 to €9,000 a tonne, resulting in a penalty of around €8,100 to €16,300 a tonne of fuel not supplied.

Apart from pushing for greener fuels, T&E is also urging frequent flyers to travel less often.

“As it is currently difficult to reduce emissions (from aviation), flying less is the only way to reduce emissions … Flying less could mean taking a more sustainable mode of transport, such as train, or changing your destination to one which can be reached by less climate-intensive means.

“It could also mean teleconferencing instead of attending business meetings, or going on longer individual holidays, rather than several short, carbon-intensive, trips.”

T&E argues that “Whatever the means of achieving it, demand reduction should not be a taboo subject. The sector’s emissions are soaring at a rate too high to ignore and policymakers should at the very least not recklessly champion endless aviation growth while at the same time knowing how difficult it is to decarbonise the sector.” DM

Disclosure: The writer’s travel expenses to Germany were sponsored by the Hamburg Sustainability Conference.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REeWvTRUpMk

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