Kansai Airport, which owns and operates Kansai International, Osaka International and Kobe airports in Japan, has concluded an agreement with JGC Holdings Corporation and REVO International to commit to the use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) made from used cooking oil as a renewable feedstock.

The agreement follows a target set by Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) to increase the proportion of SAF in aviation fuel to 10% by 2030.

As part of the planned SAF supply, 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 30,000 kilolitres, with the first commercial supply beginning in 2025 in time for Expo 2025, which will be held in Osaka.

The agreement with Kansai Airports forms the basis for the airport operator to contribute in securing used cooking oil from restaurants and other sources. The company will raise awareness of the importance of SAF in decarbonising aviation not only at their airport restaurants, hotels and in-flight catering 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, who will also coordinate the SAF manufacturing process.

As members of a public-private council promoting SAF, both JGC Holdings and Kansai Airports will work with national and local government offices to address the technical and economical challenges of producing and distributing SAF at scale.

 

Header image: Kansai Airport, Japan. 

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