Japan's ANA, JAL expand sustainable aviation fuel purchases with Itochu deal

Jan 17 (Reuters) - Japan's top airlines All Nippon Airways (ANA) and Japan Airlines (JAL) have expanded their sustainable aviation fuel purchases by adding supplies from Japanese trading house Itochu Corp and U.S. producer Raven SR, they said on Tuesday.

The global airline industry has sought to rely on sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) — which is produced from feedstock such as agricultural waste and used cooking oil — to meet its net zero emissions target by 2050.

On Tuesday, Itochu and Raven SR signed a memorandum of understanding to supply the cleaner fuel to ANA and JAL, Itochu said in two statements.

Raven SR, in which Itochu invested $20 million together with three other companies in 2021, will start SAF's commercial production in California by 2025, with an aim to produce 200,000 tons per year by 2034 both in the United States and Europe.

ANA and JAL have both committed to using SAF to meet 10% of their fuel needs by 2030 in line with a government target. Last year, JAL agreed to buy SAF from Gevo from 2027, while ANA had previously secured a SAF supply deal with Neste.

The agreement would support ANA's mid- and long-term carbon reduction goals, Hideo Miyake, ANA's executive vice president for procurement, said in a separate statement.

Both Japanese and western companies, including Mitsubishi Corp, Boeing, and TotalEnergies SE, have been investing into SAF in Japan to meet decarbonisation targets and growing demand for cleaner energy. (Reporting by Katya Golubkova; editing by Uttaresh.V)