Japanese cardboard producer Rengo [3941:JP] has announced an ambitious plan to produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) from construction waste by 2027, as reported by Nikkei Asia on February 19. The company will invest around JPY20bn (USD133m) to install facilities for saccharification, fermentation, and distillation necessary to produce ethanol. The facilities will be built at the main factory of its subsidiary Taiko Paper, which produces packaging papers and disposes of industrial waste. Starting in 2027, Rengo plans to produce 20,000 kiloliters of ethanol per year, which will then be sold to oil wholesalers and other companies that produce SAF. Rengo aims to take up around 1% of the domestic demand for SAF by 2030.

Rengo intends to capitalize on the growing need for SAF as Japan attempts to develop a greener aviation industry. Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism envisions mixing regular aviation fuel with SAF, which emits about 80% less carbon dioxide (CO2) over its life cycle than standard jet fuel. The ministry has set a target to increase SAF usage to 10% of domestic airline fuel consumption by 2030. Rengo’s innovative technology to diversify raw materials for SAF aligns with Japan’s efforts to scale up production of such green fuel. Furthermore, the approach further mitigates the environmental impact of aviation fuel compared with traditional manufacturing processes that rely on corn and other plants as raw materials.

Sources:

https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Environment/Japan-firm-to-turn-construction-waste-into-green-jet-fuel-material

https://www.techtimes.com/articles/301782/20240219/japanese-cardboard-company-pioneer-sustainable-jet-fuel-construction-waste-2027.htm