Mitsubishi, ENEOS Invest $100M in Clean Jet Fuel in Louisiana

• Mitsubishi and Eneos invest $100M in Hawaii SAF joint venture with Par Pacific.
• Hawaii plant to supply 150,000 kl of SAF yearly, meeting 6% of fuel demand.
• Project supports ICAO 2027 mandate and Japan’s 2030 SAF goals.

Japanese companies Mitsubishi Corporation and Eneos are joining with U.S. firm Par Pacific Holdings in producing sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in Hawaii, with an overall commitment of $100 million.  There will be a new joint venture called Hawaii Renewables, and production is expected to begin within the year. The project will use Par Pacific's oil refinery on Oahu, Hawaii's only oil refinery. After renovations are complete, the facility will have an output of 150,000 kiloliters of SAF a year, or about 6% of the state's aviation fuels demand of 2.5 million kl. Mitsubishi will own 18.6% of this venture and Eneos, 17.9%.

The companies assume consistent demand for long-haul flights to Hawaii from Asia and the U.S. mainland. At Par Pacific, the pipeline and infrastructure will transport SAF to the airport and use the companies established network and scheduling. Mitsubishi will handle fat and used cooking oil procurement from Asia and the Americas while Eneos brings refining expertise from Japan. Mitsubishi aims to establish a sales channel for SAF byproducts.

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Knowledge acquired from this Hawaii project will inform a companion SAF facility being developed by the companies in Wakayama, Japan, with operations planned to start in fiscal 2028. The interest in SAF is growing around the world. By 2027, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ITU) will require all member countries to start using SAF. In Japan, All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines are committed to having 10% SAF in their fuel use by 2030.

In the U.S., SAF is still incentivized via tax credits, although the government support for solar and wind energy was diminished under president Donald Trump. A source said SAF is preferred because it supports American farmers, while solar energy relies on Chinese components to produce solar energy.

The U.S. Energy Department reports that U.S. production of SAF doubled from December to February. In the U.S., Phillips 66 and an affiliate of Valero Energy introduced new SAF facilities in late-2024. In Japan, Cosmo Energy Holdings is mass-producing SAF as of April 2025, and the SAF domestic supply chain is rapidly expanding, with JGC Holdings and national cooking oil collection initiatives.