Mitsui and Taiyo Oil to study feasibility of SAF and renewable diesel production

Mitsui & Co., Ltd. and Taiyo Oil Co., Ltd. have agreed to conduct a joint study on the production of ethanol-based sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and renewable diesel (RD).

The purpose of this project is to build a reliable supply chain for high-quality SAF and RD in anticipation of future growth in demand for these fuels. The project will combine the Alcohol-to-Jet (ATJ) technology of LanzaJet, Inc.,the plant operating expertise developed by Taiyo Oil and its subsidiary Nansei Sekiyu K.K. through their oil refining business, with Mitsui’s procurement capabilities of ethanol feedstock. 

The project aims to commence production in fiscal year 2028 at a site owned by Nansei Sekiyu, with a maximum yearly output of 220,000 kiloliters of Japanese-made SAF and renewable diesel. SAF can be used as an aviation fuel, while renewable diesel is suitable for buses, trucks, and other means of transportation that use light diesel oil as their fuel.

In April 2023, this study was selected by the Okinawa General Bureau of the Cabinet Office as part of the FY2023 Okinawa Clean Energy Introduction Promotion Research Program.

Mitsui has identified the expansion of business that helps to address climate change as a major priority. The company sees the production and supply of SAF as a resolution of a major hurdle to the achievement of carbon neutrality in the aviation sector by 2050, as well as a medium- to long-term business opportunity, and will continue to contribute to the decarbonisation of the aviation industry and the reliable supply of low-carbon fuels through this initiative.