Asia gets first homegrown SAF certification as Japan issues debut stamp

Japan ClassNK has issued the first certification under Asia's only ICAO-approved sustainable aviation fuel certification scheme, a milestone that removes a key regulatory barrier for Japanese producers seeking to supply CORSIA-eligible fuel.

The certification comes just days after two of the region's largest carriers retired a combined 400,000 metric tons of carbon credits under the same international aviation emissions framework.

The certification, issued by Nippon Kaiji Kentei QA under the ClassNK Sustainable Certification Scheme on Sept. 8, was awarded to Mokukan no Mori, a Sumitomo Forestry Group lumber company that converts woody biomass residues from its lumbering operations into usable fuel products.

The issuance marks the full operational launch of ClassNK SCS, which was approved by the ICAO Council in October 2024 as the third SAF certification scheme in the world and the first in Asia, according to a ClassNK press release on Sept. 8.

The timing underscores the growing urgency of CORSIA compliance infrastructure in Asia.

On Sept. 7, Japan Airlines and Singapore Airlines together retired 400,000 mt of credits under Phase 1 of the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation, according to data on the Verra Carbon Standard registry.

Both carriers sourced their credits from VCS 2925, Grouped Projects for Improved Cookstoves in Cambodia, developed by Vietnam's INTRACO Carbon.

Japan Airlines retired 100,000 mt of credits with a 2022 vintage, while Singapore Airlines and its subsidiary Scoot retired 300,000 mt with a 2023-24 vintage, with Scoot accounting for 30,439 mt of the Singapore Airlines total.

The practical significance of a domestic Asian certification pathway is considerable.

Until now, Japanese and other Asian SAF producers seeking CORSIA eligibility have been required to navigate certification processes designed around overseas schemes, primarily European ones.

The ClassNK SCS creates a fully domestic certification pathway aligned with Japanese laws and business practices, lowering the administrative and cost barriers for producers entering the market.

Certification infrastructure

For SAF to qualify as a CORSIA-eligible fuel, every business in the supply chain from raw material sourcing to the blending point must be certified by a body operating within an ICAO-approved sustainability certification scheme.

The absence of an Asia-based approved scheme had represented a structural gap in the region's SAF infrastructure, forcing producers to engage with foreign certification bodies and comply with frameworks not calibrated to Asian feedstock types, regulatory environments or supply chain structures.

The Japan Accreditation Board for Conformity Assessment granted accreditation to Nippon Kaiji Kentei QA or the product certification sub-scheme covering the fuel manufacturing process on September 2, six days before the first certification was issued.

ClassNK said it would expand its network of certification bodies and position the scheme as the foundation for SAF certification infrastructure across Japan and the broader Asian region.

The choice of Mokukan no Mori as the scheme's inaugural certified entity signals that ClassNK SCS is designed to accommodate a broad range of feedstock pathways beyond the waste cooking oil and processed fatty acid distillate streams that currently dominate Asian SAF production.

Certification of a forestry residue-based supply chain participant could support the feedstock diversification that has been identified as critical to scaling Asian SAF supply beyond the constraints of the globally traded waste oil market.

The broader CORSIA credit market context adds further urgency to the certification infrastructure development.

Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, assessed prices of the Platts CEC — which reflects the value of fully eligible CORSIA Phase 1 credits — down 5 cents/mt of CO2 equivalent to $12.25/mtCO2e on Sept. 7.