Establishment of JIRCAS’s Second Institute-Related Venture Company

―Utilization of intellectual property and other achievements on conversion of oil palm biomass research―

In accordance with the “Regulations Pertaining to the Recognition and Assistance of Institute-Related Venture Businesses” (enacted on September 8, 2021), JIRCAS promotes the establishment of institute-related venture businesses to contribute to the dissemination of research results developed by its research staff.  In this regard, JIRCAS has additionally established a system for the support of venture companies, including the use of research facilities and equipment, as well as preferential treatment for patent licensing at the institute’s discretion.
 
JIRCAS Dream Biomass Solutions, Inc. (CEO and Founder: Dr. KOSUGI Akihiko), the second venture company to utilize this system, was approved and its corporate registration was completed on October 4, 2022. This venture company plans to develop a commercialization consulting business, plant design, construction support, operation support, and product sales business for the production of fuels and materials from unused oil palm biomass using the “raw material diversification processing” treatment process developed by a joint research group consisting of JIRCAS, private companies and universities from Japan and overseas.
 
Oil palm is the most produced and consumed important oil in the world, and is widely used for food and industrial purposes. For many years, JIRCAS has been conducting research on technologies to utilize and add value to the large amount of crop residues that are disposed of in the production of oil palm oil. In order to sustainably use oil palm plantations, it is necessary to recycle old oil palm trees (OPT) that are abandoned or disposed of on the plantations, and to promote the reuse of agricultural land while reducing the environmental impact on the plantations. To upcycle OPTs, a joint research group led by JIRCAS has developed technologies to produce high-quality, carbon-neutral fuel and material pellets, and to recover sugar and energy from sap and waste sap of OPTs. Furthermore, this research project has also succeeded in developing the “raw material diversification processing” treatment process that can also be used to convert oil palm fronds (OPF), empty fruit bunches (EFB) and mesocarp fiber (MCF) into pellets. The “raw material diversification processing" treatment process is designed as a zero-emission process that enables the recovery of biogas from liquid waste and its use for power generation, as well as the production of liquid fertilizer and the reclamation of used cleaning water without the need for external energy supply. The fuel and material pellets produced are carbon neutral.
 
Normally, it is difficult to apply a common treatment process to biomass with different characteristics, and it has been common to introduce a dedicated treatment process for each biomass feedstock. However, there is a concern that the dedicated system may cause operational instability due to fluctuations in the amount and cost of biomass procurement.
 
On the other hand, the “raw material diversification processing” treatment process can apply the same treatment process to a wide variety of unused biomass, enabling stable production of homogeneous pellets and maintaining a high plant utilization rate at all times, thereby stabilizing production costs and production volume. The ability to use waste from a wide variety of oil palm industries means that the required raw materials can be sourced from farms within a few kilometers of the oil palm mill. In addition, it can be assumed that up to 100,000 tons of fuel pellets can be produced per oil palm mill per year, which is expected to significantly improve the profitability of the biomass business.
 
JIRCAS is currently implementing the SATREPS OPT research project and is supporting the construction of a plant in Sarawak, Malaysia, that will introduce the “raw material diversification processing” treatment process as part of its social implementation. Full-scale effective utilization of oil palm biomass utilizing the research results developed thus far is expected to start soon.
 
The JIRCAS Dream Biomass Solutions, Inc. was established to lead the creation, development, and expansion of a circular economy industry that converts and utilizes unused biomass, mainly derived from the oil palm oil industry, into renewable energy and renewable resources. As a venture from JIRCAS that promotes social implementation of research and development results, we will enhance the sustainability of the agriculture, forestry, and fisheries industries in Japan and overseas, and contribute to the conservation of the global environment by forming a sustainable oil palm oil industry that is in harmony with the environment and enables procurement of oils and fats with a reduced environmental impact that will also lead to the Sustainable Food Systems Strategy “MeaDRI”.

JIRCAS President : KOYAMA Osamu

Program Director：

HAYASHI Keiichi

Principal Investigator：

KOSUGI Akihiko (Biological Resources and Post-harvest Division)

Press Coordinator：

OMORI Keisuke (Head, Information and Public Relations Office)
E-mail：koho-jircas@ml.affrc.go.jp