Joint study by Idemitsu Kosan and LOPS on procurement of sustainable aviation fuel raw materials

There is a growing social demand for a stable supply of SAF as a concrete measure to reduce CO₂ in the aviation industry. SAF is manufactured from non-fossil-derived raw materials, but one of the challenges is securing raw materials that have little competition with edible crops. Under this agreement, the two companies will utilize Idemitsu Kosan's petroleum product manufacturing technology, LOPS's knowledge of animal and vegetable oils, and their respective supply chains to procure, store, transport, and land SAF raw materials such as waste cooking oil in Japan. We will consider ways to optimize and reduce costs, and create a system for stable procurement.

Idemitsu Kosan is working to build a domestic SAF production system of 500,000 KL per year in order to achieve the goal of the Japanese government and the airline industry to replace 10% of fuel consumption by Japanese airlines with SAF by 2030. To this end, in addition to demonstrations using ATJ^*1 technology at Chiba Complex, which is scheduled to begin supply from FY2026, we are also considering deploying Hydroprocessed Esters and Fatty Acids ^*2technology from the second unit onwards, with the aim of starting supply in the latter half of the 2020s.

LOPS is a trading company specializing in oils and fats, established in 2007. With friendly and strong partnerships with producers, we supply raw materials for oils and fats for a variety of uses, and have a share of more than 50% in the export of waste cooking oil. In addition to striving for a stable supply of oils and fats and stabilizing the market, we are always contributing to society as a stabilizer in the oils and fats industry based on a global perspective.

Through this agreement, both companies will work to resolve the issue of securing SAF raw materials and contribute to the decarbonization of aviation fuel.