Japan backs coconuts as alternative SAF feedstock

Non-standard coconuts have been registered as a feedstock to manufacture sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) after being promoted by the Japanese government.

Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transportation (MLIT) suggested ICAO recognise non-standard coconuts, which are discarded and non-edible because of mould and cracks, as an official SAF feedstock under ICAO's Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation.

There are 5mn t/yr of non-standard coconuts produced globally, according to MLIT, which can produce around 300,000 t/yr or 380,000 kilolitre (kl)/yr) of SAF.

MLIT promoted the use of non-standard coconuts because supplies of SAF's main feedstock used cooking oil (UCO) are tight, with demand for SAF expected to grow rapidly with the decarbonisation of the aviation industry. Diversification of feedstocks is necessary to boost SAF production, said MLIT.

Japan's SAF demand is expected to reach 1.71mn kl/yr by 2030, with Japan's trade and industry ministry (Meti) planning to mandate that SAF make up at least 10pc of total jet fuel consumption by volume. Meti also forecast SAF supplies to be 1.92mn kl/yr but there is uncertainty because of feedstock availability and technology development.

Japanese companies have attempted to secure stable UCO supplies. Refiner Eneos plans to buy an unspecified volume of UCO from Japanese real estate firm Tokyu Land's shopping centres, hotels and golf clubs. It targets to operate a 400,000 kl/yr SAF plant in west Japan's Wakayama prefecture from the April 2026-March 2027 fiscal year. Japan Airlines has started collecting UCO from households in Yokohama with an aim of starting to produce SAF from 2025.

By Nanami Oki