Japan’s ANA starts using SAF on domestic flights

Market: Biofuels
14/11/22

Japanese airline All Nippon Airways (ANA) has started to use mass-produced sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) for its domestic flights.

ANA used 1,000 litres (6.3 bl) of SAF supplied by Finnish biofuels producer Neste on a domestic flight from Tokyo's Haneda airport to Fukuoka on 14 November. The 10pc blend was the first time ANA has used commercial SAF on a domestic flight.

ANA has regularly bought SAF from Neste for its international flights departing from Japan since the companies agreed on a SAF supply agreement in 2020. Nefte produces SAF from sustainably sourced, renewable waste and residue raw materials, which can reduce up to 90pc of greenhouse gas emissions compared with fossil jet fuel in its neat form and over the lifecycle, ANA said.

The ANA group aims to replace at least 10pc of its jet fuel with SAF by the April 2030-March 2031 fiscal year, ahead of its 2050-51 carbon neutral goal.

Fellow domestic airline Japan Airlines (JAL) also plans to use SAF produced by Neste on a flight on 18 November, which will connect Haneda airport to Naha in south Japan's Okinawa prefecture.

Japan's land and transport ministry (MLIT) last December set a target of 10pc SAF use by domestic airlines by 2030, after ANA and JAL set similar goals in October 2021. Japan's SAF demand will reach 2.5mn-5.6mn kl/yr by 2030 and 23mn kl/yr by 2050, according to MLIT.

By Motoko Hasegawa

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