In this second part of the deep dive into biofuels in Japan, we look at what is driving interest in them, which companies are the most active, which are the key projects, and what to expect over the next five to 10 years from the sector.

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At present, European and American companies account for four-fifths of the nascent global SAF market, with Japan’s efforts in the sector so far at a testing stage.

The onset of the new emissions standards has brought urgency to SAF development in Japan, with trading firms and airlines also pushing domestic oil refining companies to get more involved in a sector they hitherto viewed with distrust.

Cosmo Energy is due to become the first of Japan’s three petroleum refining majors to cross over to the green side. This month the company announced plans to create a bio-jet fuel manufacturing hub that would utilize used cooking oil as a raw material and begin full scale product by 2025.

Cosmo is working with engineering firm JGC Holding on the project, and reportedly plans to cover 30% of Japan’s needs by produce 30,000 kiloliters of biofuel a year at its Osaka factory.

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