<article><p class="lead">Japan is focusing on commercialising domestically produced sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) as its main transport biofuels strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.</p><p>Japan's trade and industry ministry (Meti) plans to use its ¥2 trillion ($17.4 bn) Green Innovation Fund to support research, development and commercialisation of environmentally innovative projects including developing e-fuels and SAF over the next 10 years, according to a report by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). Meti this year has provided ¥5.58bn for bio-jet fuel technology research and development projects carried out by the state-controlled New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organisation.</p><p>Japan currently does not commercially produce or consume any advanced biofuels, including SAF. Although there is currently no SAF mandate for either domestic or international flights, domestic airline <a href="https://direct.argusmedia.com/newsandanalysis/article/2153557">ANA voluntarily used SAF produced by Finland-based refiner Neste</a> for outbound flights in October 2020.</p><p>For international flights, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Civil Aviation Bureau forecasts Japanese airports will use 10.9bn-12.3bn litres (188,000-212,000 b/d) of jet fuel by 2030, of which 2.5bn-5.6bn l should be SAF, in line with the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation of the International Civil Aviation Organisation.</p><h3>Road biofuels stalled</h3><p class="lead">But Japan still has no plan to raise ethanol blending for road transport fuel beyond its current long-standing volumetric target of 500mn l crude equivalent, which is entirely fulfilled by bio-ETBE and runs to 2022. Japan's gasoline quality regulations limit the ETBE blend rate at 8.3pc, which equivalent to a 3.5pc direct ethanol blend rate.</p><p>The Japan Office of the USDA's Foreign Agriculture Service forecasts Japan's 2021 transport bioethanol consumption at 823mn l, meaning the average national blend rate will fall to 1.8pc in 2021 from 1.9pc in 2020.</p><p>Japan's fuel-grade ethanol relies virtually entirely on imports, which are forecast at 827mn l in 2021. Of this, 67mn l will be imported as ethanol to produce ETBE while 760mn l will be imported directly as ETBE.</p><p>Japan's road biodiesel use will remain stable at 15mn l in 2021, according to the USDA's forecast, as current legislation limits direct biodiesel blending at up to 5pc for road transportation fuels.</p><p>Production is forecast to fall slightly by 1mn l to 22mn l in 2021, derived domestically from 22,000t of used cooking oil feedstock.</p></article>
