All Nippon Airways (ANA) has signed a memorandum of understanding with Japan’s Itochu Corporation and US firm Raven SR for the long-term procurement of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).
Raven SR has a proprietary process to convert various types of waste into renewable hydrogen and clean fuels, says ANA.
Raven SR will commence commercial hydrogen production in the first quarter of 2024, and in 2025 it will start producing SAF in California. The company aims to produce 200,000t of SAF annually by 2034, with facilities planned for “major global markets in the US and Europe.”
Itochu is also involved in sustainable fuel activities: in November 2022 it signed an agreement with Japan Airlines (JAL) to supply SAF produced by Neste for a special charter flight and is in discussions with the same carrier about future supply needs.
“As part of our climate transition strategies, ANA is dedicated to being an industry leader with our environmental commitments,” says the carrier’s executive Hideo Miyake.
“This announcement with Itochu and Raven SR will be of great importance and support our mid- and long-term carbon reduction goal. We look forward to collaboratively working together on this important business imperative of being environmentally conscious and developing local solutions that are beneficial to reducing our carbon footprint.”
It is not clear how much of Raven SR’s global SAF production will be earmarked for ANA, which aims to replace 10% of its aviation fuel with SAF by its 2030 financial year, and be carbon neutral by its 2050 financial year.
