Le Bourget, 20 June 2023 - Deutsche Aircraft and Sasol ecoFT have further strengthened their partnership to support the use of 100 % Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), specifically 100% Power to Liquid (PtL), in regional aviation. At the Paris Air Show 2023, they have signed an LOI that will provide Deutsche Aircraft’s D328eco customers access to the SAF expert team from Sasol ecoFT as soon as sufficient production capacity has been ramped up.

Sasol ecoFT aims to offer access to SAF blends, certified according to ASTM. Later to be followed by 100% SAF as soon as standards evolve. This approach reflects Sasol ecoFT and Deutsche Aircraft’s vision to offer scalable SAFs to the market with the lowest environmental impact possible Sasol ecoFT leverages Sasol’s extensive Fischer-Tropsch proprietary technology, and catalysts to produce sustainable fuels via the Power-to-X process.

Deutsche Aircraft’s D328eco customers will have the option to contact Sasol ecoFT directly to explore the supply of SAF

The D328eco aircraft operators will be given priority access to the SAF experts from Sasol ecoFT. SAF will remain a scarce resource, and with this arrangement, Deutsche Aircraft will support its customers to secure SAF to reduce the environmental impact.

Dr. Regina Pouzolz, Head of Sustainability at Deutsche Aircraft, shared her insights about this agreement with Sasol ecoFT. "As Deutsche Aircraft, we are proud to be a part of a sustainable aviation ecosystem, and with our D328eco aircraft in conjunction with SAF supplied by our partner Sasol ecoFT, our customers will be able to significantly reduce their CO2 emissions, improve local air quality and reduce the climate impact from contrails. By providing demand certainty to investors and SAF producers we are supporting the SAF ramp-up vital to reduce costs."

"The agreement signed today provides our customers and future D328eco operators with a one-of-a-kind opportunity to obtain Sustainable Aviation Fuel, including Power-to-Liquids, directly from Sasol ecoFT. Regional airlines often do not have access to the SAF market. With this agreement we are bringing sustainable solutions to this market segment, which plays a major and, often, the solo role, in essential connectivity" says Anastasija Visnakova, Vice President of Sales and Marketing.

Helge Sachs, Senior Vice President Sasol ecoFT, “Within this great partnership, we share the same ambition of climate neutral aviation. Today’s agreement is another step into the right direction by supporting an often-overlooked segment of the market with SAF. We want to make fuelling up with SAF a normal thing like the world has got accustomed to lead-free gasoline many years ago.”

Marc Siegel, Senior Manager Marketing & Sales Sasol ecoFT, “Regional aviation is an important market segment. With this agreement we support decarbonization of this sector of the aviation industry. We understand that these flights are needed and want to keep remote locations including their small communities connected and provide essential services. The combination of the D328eco with our SAF can make a difference on this level as well.”

Power-to-Liquids are a scalable and long-term solution for reducing aviation’s climate impact and improve local air quality. They are produced by combining green hydrogen and CO₂ taken directly from the air (“Direct Air Capture”) or from biogenic or industrial point sources. The production process can be set up to have the same properties as conventional kerosene: high energy density at low volume, verified safety and distribution via the established infrastructure. Furthermore, these fuels naturally contain no aromatics and no sulphur, reducing contrails and improving local air quality. Deutsche Aircraft aims to make the D328eco ready for 100% Power-to-Liquids containing zero aromatics.