Japan and South Korea are moving from aspirational sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) targets toward blending mandates. In July 2026, Japan announced plans to mandate a 1% SAF blend in fiscal year (FY) 2030, rising to at least 3% in FY2031 and 5% or more from FY2032–34. South Korea announced its phased SAF mandate in 2025, requiring a 1% SAF blending rate from 2027, increasing to 3-5% by 2030 and 7-10% by 2035.
Despite South Korea introducing its blending mandate earlier and targeting an earlier implementation date, Japan has made substantially greater progress in the development of standalone SAF projects. For example, Japan already has Cosmo Oil’s ~8 million gallons per year (mgpy) Sakai plant operating, Idemitsu Kosan’s ~26 mgpy Chiba project under construction, and major projects from ENEOS/Mitsubishi (~106 mgpy) and Taiyo Oil/Mitsui (~53 mgpy) in the front-end engineering design (FEED) stage, alongside other projects in advanced development. In South Korea, LG Chem–Enilive’s ~132 mgpy dedicated hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO)/SAF plant is currently the country’s only major standalone SAF project under construction, while other SAF production initiatives are mostly co-processing.
At a high level, the key differences in standalone SAF project development between Japan and South Korea reflect Japan’s stronger government support and more collaborative project development model, which have enabled greater investment in dedicated SAF capacity, as compared to South Korea (see Exhibit 1).
Exhibit 1. Japan and South Korea have adopted different approaches to SAF project development.
In the ninety-first edition of ADI’s biweekly SAF newsletter, SAF Tracker, ADI explores in depth the factors shaping the different trajectories of SAF project development in Japan and South Korea, and what these contrasting approaches could mean for the development of SAF capacity across Asia Pacific in the longer term.
Subscribe to SAF Tracker to access the full article and key insights, SAF news highlights, as well as our archives and databases.
About ADI Analytics
ADI is a prestigious, boutique consulting firm specializing in oil and gas, energy, and chemicals since 2009. We bring deep expertise in a broad range of markets where we support Fortune 500, mid-sized and early-stage companies, and investors with consulting services, research reports, and data and analytics, with the goal of delivering actionable outcomes to help our clients achieve tangible results.
We also host the ADI Forum that brings c-suite executives together for meaningful dialogue and strategic insights across the oil & gas, energy transition, and chemicals value chains. Learn more about the ADI Forum.
Subscribe to our newsletter or contact us to learn more.
