Topsoe, Sasol, and the German Aerospace Center (DLR) have signed a cooperation agreement to enable the construction, operations and R&D activities of DLR’s e-fuels demonstration facility for research and production of e-SAF (sustainable aviation fuels).
The demonstration plant forms part of DLR’s e-fuels Technology Platform Power-to-Liquid Fuels (TPP), to be constructed at the Leuna Chemical Complex, Germany.
Elena Scaltritti, CCO at Topsoe, says: ‘Demonstration facilities, like the TPP, are essential for proving the capabilities of new technologies and highlighting the viability of innovative products like e-fuels. We are excited to join forces with DLR, Sasol and Griesemann to develop this demonstration plant as well as the technologies that will support the rollout of power-to-liquid fuels at scale.’
Sarushen Pillay, executive vice president for business Building, Strategy and Technology at Sasol, comments: ‘DLR, Topsoe and Sasol’s collaboration stretches over many years, and we are proud that the TPP received funding, our efficient and high yielding G2L e-fuels technology was selected, and we can be part of demonstrating and developing e-fuels production. Together with our partners Topsoe and Griesemann we have a winning team with the expertise to make this project a success, which we believe will be an important step in enabling SAF production at scale, as well as supporting downstream application and flight testing to move us to a fully decarbonized industry.’
The TPP facility began construction on October 1, 2024, and is expected to be the world’s largest research e-fuels production facility and the first in which electricity-based fuels can be demonstrated and tested across the entire technology value chain. The design of the plant allows various processes and technologies to be analyzed.
This announcement follows Topsoe and Sasol’s selection late last year to deliver their integrated G2L e-fuels technology for the SAF demonstration plant, integrating Topsoe’s innovative eREACT technology and hydroprocessing technologies with Sasol’s LTFT (low-temperature Fischer-Tropsch) technology. Griesemann Gruppe is working alongside Topsoe and Sasol as the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor.
