Japanese refiner Eneos is looking to develop its sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) business by tying up with other Japanese firms and South Korean partnes to achieve its net zero emissions goal.
Eneos on 22 March said that it had signed an initial agreement on 11 January with South Korean bioenergy producer DS Dansuk and four Japanese firms including oils and fats trader HMLP, specialty chemical product importer Nomura Jimusho and used cooking oil (UCO) collector Yoshikawa Yushi and Sapporo Yushi, to discuss co-operation on biofuels and their feedstocks.
The deal is eyeing Eneos’ project for SAF production in Wakayama as a target collaboration area. The firms will jointly study the possibility of supplying feedstocks, such as UCO and tallow, to produce SAF and eventually establish a feedstock hub at the Wakayama plant, by leveraging each firm’s supply chain and knowledge. They will also explore opportunities to supply biofuels.
Eneos is aiming to start operations at its SAF plant in Wakayama in the April 2026-March 2027 fiscal year. The plant is designed to produce around 400,000 kilolitre/yr. The company will utilise its 120,000 b/d Wakayama refinery site, which was scrapped in October 2023.
Dansuk is currently building facilities to conduct pretreatment for feedstocks processed into
hydrotreated vegetable oil to produce SAF, and aims to complete them in the second half of this year.
