Industrial, Sourcing Renewables  -  January 19, 2023

All Nippon Airways to Use SAF

All Nippon Airways (ANA) plans to use sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) for major global routes.

The Japanese airline signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Raven SR Inc., a renewable fuels company that will supply SAF.

The MOU provides for an initial 50,000 tons of SAF supply in the first year, 2025, with annual incremental increases to 200,000 tons for the 10th year. The supply will be produced by Raven SR at facilities planned for major global markets outside Japan to serve specific international routes of ANA.

Raven SR produces SAF by converting various types of local waste, such as green waste, municipal solid waste, organic waste, and methane from municipal solid waste into clean fuels.

"As part of our climate transition strategies, ANA is dedicated to being an industry leader with our environmental commitments. This announcement with ITOCHU and Raven SR will be of great importance and support our mid- and long-term carbon reduction goals," said Hideo Miyake, Executive Vice President at ANA overseeing Procurement in a statement. "We look forward to collaboratively working together on this important business imperative of being environmentally conscious and developing local solutions that are beneficial to reducing our carbon footprint."

The Japanese airline industry is required by the country's General Assembly of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to reach a goal of achieving net-zero CO2 emissions from aircraft by 2050. Starting in 2024, Japanese airlines must reduce or offset 15% of emissions from 2019 levels.

Raven SR plans to commence commercial production of SAF by 2025 in California, and expand SAF production by 200,000 tons/year until 2034 in the U.S. and Europe.