Environment Japanese joint venture to produce bio jet fuel

The primary raw material will be wood cut from Nippon Paper's forests. The company owns roughly 90,000 hectares of forests in Japan, second only to rival papermaker Oji Holdings. Nippon Paper plans to increase the sustainability of its supply by planting seedlings that grow 50% faster and absorb 50% more carbon dioxide than conventional trees in logging areas. [...] The venture will seek to lower SAF production costs, one of the barriers to the wider adoption of plant-based jet fuels. Ordinary jet fuel is priced at about 100 yen per litre, while SAF costs several hundred to several thousand yen. Japanese companies have tried using imported corn and other crops to make ethanol for SAF but struggled to secure stable supplies of the feedstocks. Critics say converting crops like corn and sugarcane to fuel can contribute to food insecurity. Building a supply chain for waste cooking oil also has proved difficult.

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