JGC, Kansai Airports and Revo Intl. establish basic agreement to commercialize SAF in Japan

JGC Holdings Corp., Kansai Airports and Revo International Inc. announced June 29 the conclusion of an agreement on supply of used cooking oil from restaurants and other sources at the three airports (Kansai International, Osaka International and Kobe) operated by Kansai Airports Group as a feedstock in production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), the product pursued by JGC Holdings, Revo International and Cosmo Oil Co. Ltd.

Amid more urgent calls around the world to curb CO2 emissions, the airline industry has seen increasing demand for SAF.

In Japan, a target set by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism aims to increase the proportion of SAF in aviation fuel to 10 percent by 2030.

To this end, a stable supply of domestic SAF can be considered essential.

In the SAF production envisioned, JGC Holdings, Revo International and Cosmo Oil have planned the first large-scale commercial domestic production of SAF at Cosmo Oil’s Sakai Refinery in Osaka.

The annual production capacity planned will be on the level of 8 million gallons, with the first commercial supply beginning in 2025 in time for Expo 2025 in Osaka, when interest in sustainable development goals will grow further.

This agreement forms the basis for Kansai Airports to contribute in securing used cooking oil. The company will raise awareness of the importance of SAF not only at their airport restaurants, hotels and in-flight meal facilities, but also at nearby restaurants, schools and communities.

Revo International will collect the oil at sites introduced by Kansai Airports and transport it to the SAF production site planned by JGC Holdings and the other business partners.

JGC Holdings will coordinate the entire SAF-manufacturing business using the waste cooking oil as a raw material.

In addition, this initiative is part of a project subsidized by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO).

JGC Holdings and Kansai Airports, both members of a public-private council to promote the introduction of SAF, will work with national and local government offices to address technical and economic challenges in production of domestic SAF at scale.

Through this collaboration, JGC Holdings, Kansai Airports and Revo International will establish a supply network for used cooking oil to promote decarbonization at Kansai's gateways, arranging a system that offers a steady supply of domestic SAF.