Neste and ITOCHU have agreed to extend their collaboration with a licensing agreement allowing ITOCHU to become an official distributor of Neste MY Renewable Diesel in Japan. Based on this agreement, the availability of Neste MY Renewable Diesel will be expanded in the market, for example, to the area around Osaka in order to supply the fuel to the construction site of the Osaka-Kansai Japan Expo taking place in 2025.

Japan has accelerated the steps towards decarbonization in order to meet two ambitious climate goals: carbon neutrality by 2050 and a 46% reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030. Neste and ITOCHU share a common vision of renewable fuels playing a key role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions in Japan.

The key focus in the current collaboration will, therefore, be not only on selling but also on promoting the use of more sustainable fuels, accelerating the transition from fossil fuels to renewable fuels, and increasing knowledge sharing on renewable diesel and the benefits it provides to its users.

Neste and ITOCHU started collaborating in Japan in June 2021 to make renewable diesel available to selected customers in Japan. At the time, the partners agreed to build a strategic partnership to accelerate the use of renewable diesel as a low-emission solution for diesel engines in Japan.

By switching fossil diesel to Neste MY Renewable Diesel, GHG emissions can be reduced by as much as 75 to 95% when emissions over the fuel’s life cycle are compared with fossil diesel. Neste MY Renewable Diesel is produced from 100% renewable raw materials. It is a drop-in fuel, not requiring any modifications to the existing diesel-powered vehicles or fuel distribution infrastructures.

The expansion of the partnership between Neste and ITOCHU also builds on the existing collaboration to increase the availability of Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) in the Japanese market. Using Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel reduces greenhouse gas emissions by up to 80% over the fuel’s life cycle when used in neat form compared to using fossil jet fuel.

As part of their collaboration, Neste and ITOCHU are currently supplying SAF at Haneda, Narita and Chubu International Airports, supporting Japanese airlines and the Japanese government with their emission reduction targets.