On May 27, Neste and ITOCHU celebrated the first delivery of Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel to Etihad Airways, one of the airlines of the United Arab Emirates, in Japan. The delivery of Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) to Etihad marks the first time in Japan that SAF will be supplied to an overseas airline at an airport in Japan. The SAF will be delivered to Etihad’s aircraft at Narita International Airport.

This milestone is a result of the recently expanded partnership between Neste and ITOCHU to grow the availability of sustainable aviation fuel in Japan. ITOCHU acts as the branded distributor of Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel in Japan, making Neste’s SAF available first at the two largest Japanese international airports: Tokyo Haneda and Narita.

SAF is a key element to achieving aviation’s emission reduction goals, and both Neste and ITOCHU are committed to supporting Japan in achieving the target of 10 percent SAF use by 2030, set by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT).

“This delivery of our Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel to Etihad is a major step forward in further growing the use of our sustainable aviation fuel in the Japanese market,” says Sami Jauhiainen, Neste’s vice president, Asia-Pacific, renewable aviation. “Our partnership with ITOCHU aims to support domestic and international airlines as well as other fuel suppliers at Haneda and Narita International Airports in accelerating the adoption of SAF to reduce the carbon emissions of flying. I’m excited to see this partnership is already achieving concrete results and I look forward to supporting more airlines in Japan going forward.”

“This delivery of SAF to Etihad Airways is the result of the partnership with Neste, and we are glad to be the first company to supply SAF to an overseas airline in Japan. ITOCHU will continue to cooperate with Neste and airlines departing from Japanese airports, and contribute to the decarbonization of the airline industry through the stable supply of SAF,” says Tsuyoshi Matsumoto, ITOCHU’s general manager of Petroleum Trading Department.

Tony Douglas, group chief executive officer, Etihad Aviation Group, said, “Etihad has committed to achieving net zero emissions by 2050 and reducing our 2019 emissions by 50 percent by 2035. For SAF to become a viable mid-term solution for aviation decarbonization it requires collaboration between governments, corporates and the aviation industry to increase SAF supply and availability at airports, so it can be adapted more broadly. Our partnership with ITOCHU and Neste is an example of the type of industry collaboration that is required to bring widespread SAF adoption to the industry. We are extremely proud to be the first international airline to procure and use Japanese supplied SAF on flights departing Japan.”

Neste is committed to working together with the global aviation industry to achieve its emission reduction targets. Neste is currently expanding its SAF production capacity to 1.5 million tons per annum by the end of 2023. That includes up to 1 million tons of SAF production capacity in Neste’s Singapore refinery via the ongoing Neste Singapore Expansion Project, which will start operations by the end of the first quarter of 2023.

Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel is a solution for reducing the direct greenhouse gas emissions of flying immediately. It can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 80 percent*, in its neat form and over the life cycle, compared to fossil jet fuel. Neste-produced SAF is made from sustainably sourced, 100 percent renewable waste and residue raw materials. As a drop-in fuel it can be used with existing aircraft engines and airport fuel infrastructure, requiring no extra investment to them.

*) Calculated with established life cycle assessment (LCA) methodologies, such as CORSIA methodology.