ecoFT Company Profile - Book - Page 8
Sustainable FT solutions
Climate change is a global challenge that affects us all. No country will be spared from
the impacts of further global temperature increases. We are already facing serious
challenges to the natural environment; to food production and to water resources.
In line with Sasol’s purpose – innovating for a better world – ecoFT applies our worldleading FT technology and innovation to reduce environmental impact in the fuels and
chemicals sector and develop new sustainable business.
Sasol’s FT technology has exceptional potential in a low-carbon future. It is agnostic
to feedstock and can produce both fuels and chemicals with net zero emissions
through renewable energy and sustainable carbon sources, via the so-called Powerto-X, or PtX, process.
GHG emission reductions in the road transport sector are expected to come from
electrification and hydrogen fuel cells. However, GHG emissions in air transportation
will be much more difficult to abate. Policy and industry’s efforts have led to efficiency
improvements in aviation (for example fuel burn per passenger has dropped significantly
over the past 20 years) but these benefits have been outpaced by the sustained growth in
air traffic.
As a result, emissions from this sector have risen rapidly over the past two decades,
reaching ~1 Gt in 2019, or ~3% of global GHG emissions. Furthermore, with the number
of aviation passengers expected to double by 2050, unabated emissions will continue
to rise contributing to climate change. This is where Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF)
becomes critically important for the aviation sector to also meet expected global climate
targets. This is recognised also by the Air Transport Action Group (ATAG), which made a
commitment for the global civil aviation to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050,
with SAF playing a key role to transition away from fossil fuels.
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What is Sustainable Aviation Fuel?
SAF is a drop-in sustainable alternative to fissil jet fuel, requiring
no change to existing aircrafts or supporting infrastucture.
Sasol’s FT process is particularly well-suited to produce SAF.
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