JR Tokai Retailing Plus to Provide Used Cooking Oil from Food Factories as Raw Material for Domestic SAF

JR Tokai Retailing Plus Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Nagoya City, President: Hajime Kobayashi, hereinafter referred to as JR-PLUS), JGC Holdings Corporation (Headquarters: Yokohama City, President & CEO: Masayuki Sato, hereinafter referred to as JGC HD), Revo International Inc. (Headquarters: Kyoto City, CEO: Tetsuya Koshikawa, hereinafter referred to as Revo International), and SAFFAIRE SKY ENERGY LLC (Representative: Takeshi Takada, Headquarters: Yokohama City, hereinafter referred to as SAFFAIRE SKY ENERGY) have signed a basic agreement to collaborate on supplying used cooking oil (hereinafter referred to as UCO) generated from food factories in the Tokyo, Nagoya, and Osaka regions operated by JR-PLUS as raw material for domestically produced Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). Furthermore, JR-PLUS will endorse and participate in the 'Fry to Fly Project,' a project aiming to realize a decarbonized society through domestic resource circulation, effective today.

JR PLUS Food Factory and preparation process

As a core company in the JR Central Group's distribution business, JR-PLUS has contributed to the realization of a sustainable society through activities such as reusing used cooking oil from its food factories for feed and fertilizer. In this collaboration, JR-PLUS will strengthen its contribution to CO2 emission reduction by providing UCO as raw material for domestic SAF. Based on the basic agreement, starting April 2026, all JR-PLUS food factories will transition to initiatives that reuse UCO for domestic SAF production, aiming for further contributions to climate change countermeasures. Approximately 60,000 kg of UCO is expected to be provided annually. This supply volume can produce up to approximately 55,000 liters of SAF annually, with an expected CO2 reduction effect of 150,000 kg-CO2.

Revo International will be responsible for collecting the UCO and handing it over to SAFFAIRE SKY ENERGY. SAFFAIRE SKY ENERGY will manufacture SAF using the collected UCO as raw material at its large-scale domestic SAF production plant in Sakai City, Osaka Prefecture. JGC HD will lead the construction of the supply chain for the SAF manufacturing business using UCO as raw material.

Collection of used cooking oil from JR-PLUS food factories What is SAF? SAF (Sustainable Aviation Fuel) is an aviation fuel made from raw materials such as used cooking oil, which can significantly reduce CO2 emissions compared to conventional aviation fuel. Unlike automobiles, aircraft are difficult to replace with fuels like electricity or hydrogen, making CO2 emission reduction through SAF utilization a global necessity. In Japan, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism has set a target for domestic airlines to replace 10% of their fuel usage with SAF by 2030, aiming for carbon neutrality by 2050. To achieve this, the stable procurement of UCO, a raw material for domestic SAF, is an urgent issue. Currently, it is said that approximately 100,000 tons of UCO, which could be a raw material for SAF, are exported overseas annually. This not only results in CO2 emissions from transportation but also leads to the outflow of valuable raw materials for domestic SAF production. This initiative aims to help solve this problem.

Outline of Japan's First Large-Scale SAF Production Project JGC HD and Revo International, in collaboration with Cosmo Oil Co., Ltd., have been examining the commercialization of a supply chain for collecting UCO in Japan, manufacturing SAF, and transporting and supplying it. In 2022, they established a new company, SAFFAIRE SKY ENERGY, aiming to supply approximately 30,000 kiloliters of SAF annually using only UCO generated in Japan as raw material. The construction of the SAF manufacturing facility within Cosmo Oil's Sakai Refinery (Sakai City, Osaka Prefecture) is scheduled for completion in December 2024, with SAF supply commencing in April 2025. The supplied SAF has obtained ISCC CORSIA certification, an international sustainability certification. This project is a subsidized project selected by NEDO (New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization). ※NEDO Website: https://www.nedo.go.jp/koubo/FF3_100312.html

About the 'Fry to Fly Project' The 'Fry to Fly Project' is a project that aims to realize a world where aircraft fly using SAF made from used cooking oil generated in homes and businesses. The project was initiated by JGC HD, and companies, local governments, and organizations that agree with its founding principles directly participate in promoting resource circulation within Japan by providing used cooking oil generated in everyday places like homes and restaurants. Special Website: https://www.jgc.com/jp/esg-hsse/initiative/fry-to-fly/