Raw-material is bagasse from sugarcane, and technology is aimed for export to South America or Southeast Asia. A pilot plant has been built by Nissan in Akita Prefecture. The bagasse is saccharified by a specific process requiring neither sulfuric acid nor enzymes, and price of the resulting bioethanol is given with 40 Yen/L.
Sankei News, May 30, 2013
Kawasaki Heavy Industries achieves low-cost straw-to-ethanol process