Japanese energy giant Idemitsu Kosan has partnered with California-based agriculture company Terviva to explore the use of pongamia as an oilseed feedstock for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production. Pongamia—a legume tree native to eastern and tropical Asia, Australia, and the Pacific Islands—produces oil-rich seeds.

Terviva has developed high-yield varieties and proprietary technology for processing the seeds and utilizing and monetizing the product left over after oil extraction in various ways. Idemitsu, which has invested in Terviva, will leverage its fuel expertise to accelerate the development and adoption of pongamia-derived SAF using the HEFA production pathway. The two companies will team up with Stanmore, an Australian coal resource company, to establish a pilot plantation in Queensland, Australia, using Terviva’s high-yield pongamia cultivar. 

Idemitsu aims to develop a supply pipeline to produce more than 130 million gallons (nearly 500,000 kiloliters) of SAF annually by 2028.

“Our pongamia genetics have been proven through extensive field trials on over a thousand acres, using propriety data analytics and farming techniques to drive maximal yield, minimize cost, and promote sustainable cultivation,” said Terviva founder and CEO Naveen Sikka. “The end result is a complete pongamia farming package that creates a low cost, low carbon, and high-quality form of oil and protein, revolutionary for a global agriculture industry that is confronting climate change.”