Japanese firm Toyo plans sustainable aviation fuel production in Vietnam

Nihon Toyo, a Japanese renewables major, plans to up its Vietnam investment, especially in the production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).

Mentioning this during a Thursday meeting with Vietnam’s Ministry of Transport, Nihon Toyo chairman Koshio Katsuhiko also noted that the firm has already deployed many energy projects in the Southeast Asian country.

These include cooperating with Idemitsu in a $40-million green energy factory project in the central province of Binh Dinh, a $220-million waste treatment factory in the northern province of Bac Ninh, and a $60-million cosmetics plant in Ho Chi Minh City.

Nihon Toyo plans to conduct the SAF investment in collaboration with JGC Holdings, a major EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) contractor in Japan.

JGC Holdings officials said that the initial study for SAF project would take up to $300,000 over four-six months. The firm is prepared to spend $1 million in the coming months for further project studies, they added.

Transport Minister Nguyen Van Thang said Vietnam always backed sustainable development, including in the aviation sector, in line with the country’s net-zero emission commitments made at the COP 26 and COP 28 meetings.

He said starting 2035, Vietnam plans to increase the usage of SAF in short flights to at least 10% and have all new passenger transportation at airports using green energy.

Vietnam targets the use of SAF and green energy on all aircraft from 2050, Thang added.

However, there are challenges in achieving these goals, including the possibility of flight tickets costing double or even triple when the shift is made from using traditional fuels, he said.

Thang directed the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) to cooperate with the Japanese firms. He asked Nihon Toyo to work with the CAAV to research and draft standards for SAF production and use.