Sasol and Topsoe wind down Zaffra SAF venture, refocus on licensing

Sasol and Topsoe on June 26 said they will wind down Zaffra and keep SAF work inside their 2019 SPL licensing framework. The Amsterdam-based venture was formed in 2023 to combine Sasol’s Fischer-Tropsch fuel technology with Topsoe’s clean fuels platform.

The companies said the change follows a strategic review and an effort to refocus the partnership for the next phase of SAF market development. They will manage the transition with relevant stakeholders and move back to a more flexible licensing-led model, rather than continue operating Zaffra as a stand-alone joint venture.

Zaffra had been one of the clearest signs that Sasol and Topsoe wanted a more direct commercial role in SAF, after more than 30 years of cooperation across complex fuels technology. Topsoe said the venture helped strengthen the partnership, build market insight, develop a quality opportunity pipeline and engage customers and value-chain partners. Jan Toschka was appointed chief executive in January 2024 to run the venture from Amsterdam.

The reset lands at a difficult point for SAF developers. IATA’s June 2026 Global Outlook for Air Transport projected global SAF output at about 2.4 million tonnes in 2026, equal to roughly 0.8% of jet fuel demand, while the industry still needs far larger volumes to meet long-term demand. High costs and policy-design issues remain the main brake on investment, keeping many projects in a financing and offtake bottleneck rather than a construction wave.

The wind-down does not mean Sasol and Topsoe are leaving SAF behind. In October 2025, the companies signed a cooperation agreement with DLR and Griesemann for Germany’s e-SAF demonstration plant at Leuna. In 2025 and 2026, Zaffra also announced a memorandum of understanding with Moeve to develop e-SAF facilities in Spain. Those projects show the pair still sees a role in SAF, but through licensing, partnerships and targeted development work rather than a capital-heavy joint venture.