The company was formed in 1950 in Sasolburg, South Africa and built on processes that were first developed by German chemists and engineers in the early 1900s (see coal liquefaction). During WWII, the Germans built a number of plants which provided their military with the bulk of the fuel necessary to conduct operations. Today, Sasol develops and commercialises technologies, including synthetic fuels technologies, and produces different liquid fuels, chemicals and electricity.[2]