https://www.nedo.go.jp/news/press/AA5_101940.html
Under NEDO’s project titled “Development of Production Technologies for Bio-based Products to Accelerate Carbon Recycling”, the Josho Gakuen Educational Foundation’s Osaka Institute of Technology (hereinafter “OIT”) constructed a dedicated facility at its Omiya Campus (Asahi Ward, Osaka City) to serve as an R&D hub. This facility consolidates various cultivation equipment (capable of handling up to the 90-liter scale) and separation/purification equipment for products. The opening ceremony for the “Bio-Manufacturing Center” was held on June 2, 2026.
The Center will facilitate the scaling of bio-manufacturing from laboratory to industrial levels by providing end-to-end support—ranging from microbial cultivation to the separation and purification of bio-products—as well as small-scale prototyping and demonstration. It will also conduct workforce training in this field. Furthermore, the Center will act as a bridge connecting new entrants to the bio-manufacturing sector with advanced domestic R&D hubs.
As a bio-foundry primarily targeting companies new to the bio-manufacturing sector, the project established the “Bio-Manufacturing Lab” in 2021 at the Osaka Institute of Technology’s Omiya Campus (Asahi Ward, Osaka City). This R&D facility was equipped with relatively small-scale bioreactors ranging from 0.25L to 30L in capacity. The lab has since built a strong track record of achievements, including the development of cultivation data analysis applications, support for optimizing cultivation conditions and small-scale prototyping provided by skilled engineers (assisting over 30 companies), and the offering of hands-on training courses to cultivate bio-manufacturing talent (with over 380 participants).
To further enhance the capabilities of the “Bio-Manufacturing Lab,” the Osaka Institute of Technology constructed a new building on the same campus. The lab’s functions were consolidated and relocated to this new facility, marking its evolution and reorganization into the “Bio-Manufacturing Center.” This three-story center has a total floor area of 591.33 m². The first floor houses relatively large-scale cultivation and separation/purification equipment; the second floor contains lab-scale mini-jar fermenters and analytical equipment; and the third floor provides office space for desk work. The facility enables integrated research and development—scaling up from lab-level flask cultivation to volumes of up to 90 L and proceeding through to the separation and purification of products. It supports small-scale prototyping by facilitating the examination and optimization of conditions for cultivation, scale-up, and separation/purification.
Furthermore, the center offers enhanced workforce training courses—including hands-on practical sessions—for companies newly entering the bio-manufacturing sector. It also acts as a bridge between these new entrants and advanced domestic R&D hubs, introducing users to specialized facilities and organizations with scale-up capabilities based on their specific needs.