Japan plans to produce ethanol from waste wood

Ethanol is one of the feedstocks for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). According to a recent report by the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, some companies in Japan are studying the production of ethanol from wood waste and plan to start mass production from 2027.

Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) is a good way to combat global warming. Compared to conventional jet fuels made from petroleum, SAF can reduce aircraft CO2 emissions by seven to ninety percent. According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, the proportion of aviation fuel used by domestic airlines will reach 10% by 2030. Compared to the U.S. and Europe, Japan has been slow to build a sustainable aviation fuel supply chain and has challenges in terms of supply.

Against this backdrop, some Japanese companies plan to make effective use of waste wood recycling technology and improve their domestic supply mechanism. Nippon Ryoshi plans to do this by installing saccharification, fermentation, and distillation equipment for ethanol production at its subsidiary in charge of waste recycling. By 2027, the company plans to produce 20 million litres of ethanol annually from construction wood waste, which will be supplied to companies that make sustainable aviation fuel.

The use of construction wood waste to produce ethanol in bulk has been reported to be rare. Ethanol made from waste wood is more expensive to produce than ethanol from plants. However, if supply expands in the future, competitiveness may improve.