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Japan’s ANA mulls domestic fuel output, supply chain

  • Mercados: Emissions, Oil products
  • 27/04/21

Japanese airline All Nippon Airways (ANA) is considering swift development of domestic output and supply chain of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) as a key effort towards a new 2050 goal to decarbonise its aircraft operations.

ANA has upgraded its 2050 carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions target from its previous target of a 50pc emissions reduction from 2005 levels. The company also decided to cap its 2030 CO2 emissions from its aircraft operations at less than or equal to the April 2019-March 2020 level in line with the International Civil Aviation Organization's goal of carbon-neutral aviation growth from 2020.

ANA has drawn up its new environmental commitment in response to Japan's new 2030 pledge to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 46pc on 2013 levels in the run-up to a 2050 decarbonisation goal.

"Achieving net zero emissions will require us to pursue a number of initiatives to reduce our carbon footprint across the organization," chief executive of ANA Holdings Shinya Katanozaka said.

Increased use of SAF has topped ANA's list of key factors to reduce aviation emissions as the company pledged to work towards full-scale operations of SAF. It added it will seek to develop fuel-efficient aircraft and engines, achieve improved efficiency of aircraft operations and maintenance procedures, and utilise carbon credit trading, as part of efforts to reduce CO2 emissions.

ANA last year entered into a SAF supply agreement with Finnish biofuels producer Neste, paving the way for the airline company to operate SAF-fuelled regular flights out of Japan after 2023. ANA is also set to start taking SAF deliveries this year under an agreement with US firm LanzaTech.

ANA since 2011 has backed domestic initiatives in SAF production by local companies including Japanese biofuels developer Euglena. It is also collaborating with Japanese firms Toshiba, Toyo Engineering, Idemitsu and Japan CCS to examine SAF production from recycled CO2 in exhaust gases.

The potential of SAF demand in Japan has also attracted overseas developers. UK-based sustainable fuels technology company Velocys has teamed up with Toyo Engineering to start developing commercial projects to produce SAF and renewable diesel in Japan. US-based biofuel company Byogy Renewables is targeting to start commercial output of low-carbon SAF and renewable diesel in Japan by 2025.

Rival airline company Japan Airlines (JAL) in February operated the country's first commercial flight using domestically-produced SAF. The fuel was produced from around 250,000 pieces of used cotton clothing. JAL is also co-operating with local firms in a SAF production project using industrial and municipal waste.

The Japanese government recently drafted a roadmap for development of carbon-neutral synthetic fuels in the country as part of efforts to decarbonise its society by 2050. The country has set a 2040 target for commercialising synthetic fuel output using hydrogen and CO2 recycled from power plants and manufacturing plants after establishing mass-production technology by 2030.

Japan consumed 105,000 b/d of jet fuel for domestic and international flights in 2020, down by 41pc from 2019, according to government data.


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