Neste, Itochu deliver 1st batch of SAF to Etihad Airways in Japan

Photo: Neste Corp.

Neste Corp. and Itochu Corp. celebrated May 27 their first delivery of Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel™ (SAF) to Etihad Airways, one of the airlines of the United Arab Emirates, in Japan. The delivery marks the first time that SAF will be supplied to an overseas airline at an airport in Japan. The SAF will be delivered to Etihad’s aircraft at Narita International Airport. This milestone is a result of the recently expanded partnership between Neste and Itochu to grow the availability of sustainable aviation fuel in Japan. Itochu acts as the branded distributor of Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel in Japan, making Neste’s SAF available first at the two largest Japanese international airports: Tokyo Haneda and Narita.

SAF is a key element to achieving aviation’s emission-reduction goals, and both Neste and Itochu are committed to supporting Japan in achieving the target of 10 percent SAF use by 2030, set by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. “This delivery of our Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel to Etihad is a major step forward in further growing the use of our sustainable aviation fuel in the Japanese market,” said Sami Jauhiainen, Neste’s vice president of renewable aviation in the Asia-Pacific region. “Our partnership with Itochu aims to support domestic and international airlines as well as other fuel suppliers at Haneda and Narita International Airports in accelerating the adoption of SAF to reduce the carbon emissions of flying. I’m excited to see this partnership is already achieving concrete results and I look forward to supporting more airlines in Japan going forward.” Tsuyoshi Matsumoto, Itochu’s general manager of petroleum trading, added, “We are glad to be the first company to supply SAF to an overseas airline in Japan. Itochu will continue to cooperate with Neste and airlines departing from Japanese airports, and contribute to the decarbonization of the airline industry through the stable supply of SAF.”

Etihad has committed to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 and reducing its 2019 emissions by 50 percent by 2035. “For SAF to become a viable mid-term solution for aviation decarbonization, it requires collaboration between governments, corporates and the aviation industry to increase SAF supply and availability at airports, so it can be adopted more broadly,” said Tony Douglas, Etihad Aviation Group CEO. “Our partnership with Itochu and Neste is an example of the type of industry collaboration that is required to bring widespread SAF adoption to the industry. We are extremely proud to be the first international airline to procure and use Japanese supplied SAF on flights departing Japan.”