Kyoto Prefectural University has begun offering a strain of “short rice” that is easy to use for plant-based material production and other applications. It is suitable for cultivation in plant factories because it can significantly reduce the cultivation space. A university start-up Miraishoku Research and Development Center will be established, where it will be marketed […]
Microwave Chemical Co. completes 1 t/d demonstration facility for microwave-based recycling of plastics
https://www.nedo.go.jp/news/press/AA5_101587.html Under a contract from NEDO, Microwave Chemical Co. has completed Japan’s first general-purpose microwave demonstration facility for the recovery of monomers from polymers with a processing capacity of 1 ton per day. In 2021, the company had completed a small-scale demonstration facility with a processing capacity of about 5 kg per hour. The process will be further scaled […]
NEDO initiates program on blue ammonia production
https://www.nedo.go.jp/news/press/AA5_101590.html According to Japan’s “Sixth Basic Energy Plan” of October 2021 hydrogen and ammonia power generation is expected to account for about 1% of Japan’s power mix in FY2030. Following this target, NEDO and INPEX Corp. will construct a “blue ammonia” facility at the INPEX Higashi-Kashiwazaki gas field in Kashiwazaki City, Niigata Prefecture. A demonstration […]
METI secures 2 billion € fund to promote biomanufacturing (bio monozukuri)
https://bio.nikkeibp.co.jp/atcl/news/p1/22/11/08/10133/ METI will allocate 300 billion yen (2 billion €) to a new fund that will support companies that develop manufacturing technologies using bioprocesses based on waste and other raw materials. Specifically, it is envisioned that microorganisms will be used to produce fiber, ethanol, resins, and other products from waste clothing, municipal solid waste, food […]
Hydrogen ministerial meeting held in Tokyo
The Hydrogen Ministerial, a global ministerial dedicated to hydrogen, is working towards the Global Action Agenda goal of 10 million fuel cell systems and 10,000 hydrogen stations in 10 years, with more than 540,000 fuel cell systems installed and more than 1,100 hydrogen stations installed. Reported progress and added an additional goal of at least […]
NEDO defines 5 “moonshot” projects to accelerate natural CO2 adsorption
NEDO has adopted five projects to identify new technologies to achieve the Moonshot Goal 4 “Achieve sustainable resource recycling for global environmental regeneration by 2050”. The five adopted projects will determine the potential of technology to efficiently capture and absorb CO2 by artificially accelerating the natural carbon dioxide absorption capacity (artificial acceleration of natural processes). […]
Sekisui converts waste to ethanol
https://bio.nikkeibp.co.jp/atcl/news/p1/22/09/21/09955/ Sekisui Chemical plans to commercialize a technology that uses microorganisms to convert combustible garbage into ethanol by 2025. In April 2022, a 1/10th demonstration plant in Kuji, Iwate Prefecture, began operating, marking the start of the final stage of verification testing toward practical application. About 800 l ethanol are produced from 20 t of […]
NEDO starts evaluation of “household type” CO2 absorbers
https://www.nedo.go.jp/news/press/AA5_101572.html In collaboration with the Research Institute of Innovative Technology for the Earth (RITE) and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, NEDO has jointly engaged in a “moonshot-type R&D project for directly capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere on the scale of several kilograms per day. It is planned to design a pilot-scale direct air capture (DAC) test apparatus and evaluate […]
Kyoto startup Symbiobe produces spider silk in recombinant marine phototrophic bacteria
https://bio.nikkeibp.co.jp/atcl/news/p1/22/08/24/09846/ https://www.symbiobe.jp https://www.nature.com/articles/s41428-022-00675-3.pdf?proof=t2020-6-29 Symbiobe is a Kyoto University startup commercializing technology for bio refineries based on marine photosynthetic bacteria. Technology is based on the research results of Professor Keiji Numata of the Department of Materials Chemistry, Kyoto University. Using carbon dioxide and atmospheric nitrogen as raw materials, the company plans to develop four businesses: (1) services […]
Toray ready to scale technology for 100 % bio-based adipic acid
https://www.toray.com/global/news/details/20220818103248.html Adipic acid is a key material for the production of polyamide 66 (nylon). Unlike petroleum-derived adipic acid, bio adipic acid synthesized by this method does not emit any nitrous oxide (N2O). Toray Industries, with support from NEDO, is developing a highly efficient microbial fermentation process based on metabolically engineered Pseudomonas strain and an energy-saving purification method […]