Japan Airlines (JAL), Airbus, Nippon Paper Industries, Sumitomo Corporation, and Green Earth Institute (GEI) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to develop sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) from bioethanol sourced from domestic wood.
In February 2023, Nippon Paper, Sumitomo Corporation, and GEI launched the “MORISORA Project.” Two years later, in February 2025, they signed an agreement to establish a joint venture for manufacturing and selling bioethanol from wood biomass. Now, with JAL and Airbus joining the initiative, the project aims to accelerate the use and expansion of domestic sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) by collaborating with key players across the SAF supply chain.
The five companies will work to enable a low-carbon society by reducing greenhouse gas emissions during raw material procurement and production, and by producing and selling domestic wood-based bioethanol that has a low LCA (*1) and is compliant with CORSIA (*2). This will be achieved through the developing society’s circular economy of “cutting, using, planting, and growing” trees, regional revitalization including job creation, and the utilization of domestic SAF.
JAL aims to promote domestically produced SAF and has set a goal of replacing 10% of all onboard fuel with SAF by 2030. By connecting the SAF suppliers with stakeholders involved in production, JAL will advance the construction of a supply chain. Airbus will support the work to obtain the CORSIA certification for the domestic woody biomass of this project and contribute to the industry target to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
The five companies will mutually leverage their strengths to produce and promote domestic SAF made from bioethanol using domestic wood, aiming to create a decarbonized society and revitalize local communities through resource circulation and work towards a sustainable future.
(*1) Life Cycle Assessment: Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a tool to assess potential environmental impacts throughout a product’s life cycle.
(*2) The Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) is a global market-based measure designed to offset international aviation CO2 emissions in order to stabilize the levels of such emissions.
