Sumitomo teams up with Rengo to produce wood-derived ethanol for SAF

Sumitomo Forestry announced that it has signed an agreement with Osaka-based Rengo Cohave to explore the production of wood-derived bioethanol to be used as a raw material for sustainable aviation fuel.

The wood-derived ethanol would be produced from construction waste such as wood chips from Sumitomo Forestry’s housing construction sites.

Under the agreement, the two companies will continue to hold discussions and plan to establish a joint venture company by December 2025 with the goal to achieve commercial production of 20,000 kL per year by 2027.

The produced bioethanol will be sold to fuel companies, converted into SAF, and used as aviation fuel.

Bioethanol will be produced using technology from Biomaterial in Tokyo, a subsidiary of Rengo that conducts research and development of biomass chemicals.

The production base is the head office and factory of Taiko Paper, a subsidiary of Rengo that manufactures packaging paper and recycles waste. Sumitomo Forestry will collect construction waste from its own housing construction sites around Shizuoka Prefecture and supply it as CORSIA*1 certified raw materials.

In addition, the company is considering using lignin components generated during the manufacturing process to produce materials such as residential paints, and will build a business model that makes full use of wood resources.

Earlier this year, Nippon Paper Industries, Sumitomo Corporation and Green Earth Institute (GEI) announced an agreement to setup a joint venture company Morisora Bio Energy to produce ethanol to ensure steady supply of raw material for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production.

The three firms said that JV will construct a semi-commercial plant at Nippon Paper’s Iwanuma Mill in Miyagi Prefecture.

Using sustainable forest resources from the Tohoku region, such as wood scraps from sawmills, GEI’s bioethanol production process will be used to produce over 1,000 kL of bioethanol annually starting in 2027.