Neste, ITOCHU Corporation and Fuji Oil Company collaborated to supply sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) to the Japanese market as part of a demonstration project of the Civil Aviation Bureau of the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT).

The initiative helps Japan prepare for the future when significantly larger quantities of SAF will be needed to help the aviation industry achieve its emissions reduction goals. MLIT has set the target to achieve 10% SAF use in Japan by 2030.

In this partnership, ITOCHU imported neat (i.e. unblended) Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel into Japan where the fuel was locally blended with conventional fossil jet fuel in cooperation with Fuji Oil. A portion of the blended SAF has been delivered to Chubu Centrair International Airport for use in flight inspection aircraft owned by the Civil Aviation Bureau of the MLIT.

All Nippon Airways (ANA) and Japan Airlines (JAL) have purchased locally blended SAF from ITOCHU. ANA will use the fuel on their international and domestic flights from Haneda and Narita airport. JAL will be the first airline using SAF at Chubu Centrair Airport as well as at Haneda and Narita airports going forward.

“The first delivery of fuel blended with Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel into the Chubu Centrair Airport demonstrates the continuously expanding availability of SAF in Japan. We are proud to support ANA and JAL in achieving their ambitious climate targets with the use of SAF, as well as to work with like-minded partners like ITOCHU and Fuji Oil in developing the supply chains for SAF in Japan,” said Sami Jauhiainen, Vice President APAC from the Renewable Aviation business unit at Neste.

Neste is the world’s leading producer of sustainable aviation fuel and is currently increasing its annual SAF production capability to 1.5 million tons per annum by the end of 2023 with ongoing investments at its refineries in Singapore and Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

Completion of Neste’s Singapore refinery expansion will already increase Neste’s annual SAF production capability to over 1 million tons, making the company ready to support the aviation industry in the Asia Pacific region and globally.