Jan Toscka, Zaffra: Realising the romantic potential of eSAF

This episode of The SAF Podcast sees Jan Toschka, CEO at Zaffra, join Oscar for a wide ranging discussion on the potential of eSAF and the Power-to-Liquid pathway.Jan brings 27 years of energy sector experience—including leading Shell Aviation as its president—to his role building Zaffra, a 50/50 joint venture between Sasol and Tops. Together, they're leveraging their technology expertise and project development experience to commercialize eSAF.Key Topics Covered:🇩🇪 The Concrete Chemicals Flagship Project: A 40,000-ton e-SAF facility in Brandenburg, Germany, powered by local renewable wind energy and green hydrogen. Why this project captures the entire German 2030 mandate potential and how €350 million in state funding was negotiated to bridge the cost competitiveness gap.🌍 Global Site Selection & Project Development: From Spain (with partner Moeve) to the Nordics (abundant renewable electricity) to China (cost-competitive locations), Zaffra's portfolio-based approach to scaling SAF production. Why bespoke project solutions are evolving toward scalable, duplicable models.⚡ Feedstock Security & Hydrogen Infrastructure: How Zaffra secures green hydrogen through local wind farms, electrolyser projects, and emerging hydrogen pipeline networks—critical to both project financing and operational resilience.🤝 The Power of Shareholder Credibility: Why Sasol and Topsoe's proven track record—with Fischer-Tropsch technology deployed in 4 out of 10 SAF plants globally—accelerates project development, partner engagement, and capital raising.💰 Financing the First-of-a-Kind Projects: The critical challenge of proving bankability for novel eSAF projects and how technology credibility, project delivery experience, and operational expertise unlock institutional and commercial capital.🏛️ The Sustainable Transport Investment Plan (STIP) & Double-Sided Auctions: How Europe's latest policy framework is reshaping market dynamics. Jan explains the mechanics of double-sided auctions: a state-funded midstream entity bridges the gap between producers needing 10-year security and offtakers wanting flexibility as costs decline.📈 Cost Curves & Learning Economics: Drawing parallels to solar's 15x cost reduction in 25 years, Jan argues e-SAF costs will follow predictable learning curves once the industry gains scale and momentum—but only if players commit to entering the market now.✈️ Leveling the Playing Field: The crucial policy conversation around European airline competitiveness, international jurisdiction alignment, and how SAF costs—estimated at €5-7 per intra-European ticket by 2035—are trivial compared to other travel expenses.This is a fantastic listen to really understand the practical challenges of developing eSAF production and how an ecosystem focused approach is crucial to pushing projects through to FID and commercial production.Huge thank you to Jan for being so generous with his time and bringing such clarity to this discussion.