On March 16, Japan’s Fuji Dream Airlines successfully completed its first flight powered by sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). It was a special charter that carried 77 passengers, including government officials, industry players, and science students.
The journey between Mount Fuji-Shizuoka International Airport (FSZ) and Nagoya-Komaki Airport (NKM) was completed in one hour. The aircraft used by Fuji Dream Airlines was an Embraer 175, loaded with fuel made from used cooking oil and euglena microalgae.
It is a novel type of SAF, called SUSTEO. It is produced by a Tokyo-based company, also called Euglena, a pioneer in outdoor cultivation of this type of micro-organism. Although its combustion produces carbon dioxide, it is close to neutrality because it is obtained from plants that absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
The same company also produced renewable diesel to power the ground vehicle used for refueling.
SUSTEO is already certified by ASTM International and is seen as a promising and feasible large-scale solution in Japan. Its feedstock makes it an excellent alternative to other types of sustainable fuels produced from biomass.
See also: Agreement between Delta and Gevo boosts SAF market
About Fuji Airlines: «We fly around Japan’s regional areas and grow in conjunction with their residents. We participate in regional activities and build deep relationships
with cultures and traditions rooted in the region. FDA is an airline interconnecting many regional areas in Japan. We firmly believe in the potential power these regions have».
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