LanzaJet, Mitsui, Cosmo Oil secure funding from Japanese government for SAF project

Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) producer and technology company LanzaJet announced Feb. 24 that Cosmo Oil Co. Ltd. has been selected for a fiscal-year 2024 subsidy from Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry to support a project developed with Mitsui & Co. that plans to utilize LanzaJet technology.

LanzaJet is an alternative-fuels technology provider and producer with patented ethanol-based alcohol-to-jet (ATJ) technology, which includes the use of Technip Energies’ ethanol-to-ethylene solution.

This funding marks a milestone for large-scale domestic SAF production in Japan and increasing SAF supply for the aviation industry, LanzaJet stated.

“Today’s announcement signifies an important milestone for SAF production and scaling of the industry in Japan,” said LanzaJet CEO Jimmy Samartzis.

“LanzaJet’s proprietary alcohol-to-jet (ATJ) technology is helping governments worldwide as well as the global aviation industry meet ambitious demands for sustainable growth and alternative-fuels goals,” he said.

​“In support of Cosmo Oil, Mitsui & Co. and the Japanese government, we look forward to accelerating the development of domestic SAF and advancing an energy-diverse aviation sector,” Samartzis added.

Global demand for SAF is expected to grow rapidly.

Japan has a goal to diversify 10 percent of petroleum fuels with alternatives by 2030.

Planning on utilizing LanzaJet’s proprietary ethanol-to-SAF technology, Cosmo Oil intends to leverage the company’s expertise in plant operations, fuel-quality control and logistics with Mitsui’s capabilities in ethanol procurement to develop the project.

Currently, SAF production using hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids (HEFA) technology relies on oils and fats such as used cooking oil as feedstock.

The Cosmo Energy Group, together with JGC Holdings Corp. and Revo International established Saffaire Sky Energy in 2022 to produce SAF via the HEFA pathway.

The Saffaire Sky Energy SAF unit was completed at Cosmo’s Sakai Refinery in December.

Saffaire Sky Energy expects to supply approximately 30 million liters (nearly 8 million gallons) of SAF per year using only domestic waste oil as a raw material from fiscal-year 2025.

“At the same time, securing sustainable feedstock remains a challenge for the further large-scale roll out of SAF produced using HEFA technology,” Cosmo stated.

“To address this issue, the company plans to adopt the ATJ technology of U.S.-based LanzaJet, which uses bioethanol as a raw material that can be stably procured globally, and aims to establish a stable supply system to meet the expected growth in SAF demand.”

Upon completion, the ATJ project in Japan will produce approximately 150 million liters (nearly 40 million gallons) of SAF and 17 million liters (4.5 million gallons) of renewable diesel annually at the Sakaide Logistics Base starting in 2029.