South Korea plans to invest 20 billion won (€14.8/$21.8 million) by 2010 on securing technologies to develop synthetic fuels from biomass, coal and natural gas, as well as biobutanol. 29 private companies, research institutes and universities will join this first stage of the "next-generation clean energy development project" led by South Korea's Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy.
Sixteen major Japanese firms, universities, government team up to develop cellulosic biofuels
Sixteen major Japanese firms including automaker Toyota Motor Corp, Japan's largest petroleum company Nippon Oil Corp, and leading industrial conglomerate Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd (which includes Mitsubishi Motors) plan to develop technology to mass-produce low-cost bioethanol fuel from agricultural and industrial waste biomass. They will cooperate with Japan's top universities and government agencies, the Nikkei reported on Sunday.
The feedstocks under aim are local biomass waste resources such as rice hulls and used wood construction materials. Cellulosic ethanol is obtained via two main pathways: a biochemical and a thermochemical one. Taking the first route, lignocellulosic biomass is broken down by dedicated enzymes often found in microorganisms. The sugars contained in the biomass are then freed and fermented into the biofuel. The thermochemical process (biomass-to-liquids, BtL) consists of gasification and liquefaction via the Fischer-Tropsch process.
The fact that automakers such as Toyota and Mitsubishi are involved, may indicate that they are not certain yet about which type of fuel and propulsion technology will be most competitive in the medium term future. Both Toyota and Mitsubishi are also involved in a transition towards electric and hydrogen vehicles. But it now seems liquid biofuels are back on their radar. The diversification of the technology portfolio indicates that there is no clear winner for future automotive technologies yet.
The Japanese initiative, which will be announced and further detailed later this week, aims to ultimately push down the production cost of bioethanol to 40 yen per litre (€0.24/liter or $1.37/gallon) by the end of 2015 - a level considered to be competitive with other alternative energy sources:
sustainability :: energy :: biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: ethanol :: waste :: biotechnology :: Japan ::
Japan currently imports ethanol from Brazil, which delivers the most cost-effective biofuel on the market. But local production of bioethanol from sugar cane in Japan currently costs about 140 yen per litre, according to the Nikkei.
Other participants in the project include companies from the petrochemical, biotechnology, food, plant engineering, agricultural machinery and automotive sectors.
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries reportedly will set up a joint panel on the production of biofuel on Wednesday, with companies, universities and others slated to launch studies on the topic and experiments next fiscal year.
It is unclear what kind of funding the initiative will receive.
References:
Forbes: Japan's Nippon Oil, other companies to develop low-cost bioethanol - report - November 18, 2007.
GreenCarCongress: Report: 16 Major Japanese Firms to Partner on Developing Low-Cost Technology for Cellulosic Ethanol - November 18, 2007.
The feedstocks under aim are local biomass waste resources such as rice hulls and used wood construction materials. Cellulosic ethanol is obtained via two main pathways: a biochemical and a thermochemical one. Taking the first route, lignocellulosic biomass is broken down by dedicated enzymes often found in microorganisms. The sugars contained in the biomass are then freed and fermented into the biofuel. The thermochemical process (biomass-to-liquids, BtL) consists of gasification and liquefaction via the Fischer-Tropsch process.
The fact that automakers such as Toyota and Mitsubishi are involved, may indicate that they are not certain yet about which type of fuel and propulsion technology will be most competitive in the medium term future. Both Toyota and Mitsubishi are also involved in a transition towards electric and hydrogen vehicles. But it now seems liquid biofuels are back on their radar. The diversification of the technology portfolio indicates that there is no clear winner for future automotive technologies yet.
The Japanese initiative, which will be announced and further detailed later this week, aims to ultimately push down the production cost of bioethanol to 40 yen per litre (€0.24/liter or $1.37/gallon) by the end of 2015 - a level considered to be competitive with other alternative energy sources:
sustainability :: energy :: biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: ethanol :: waste :: biotechnology :: Japan :: Japan currently imports ethanol from Brazil, which delivers the most cost-effective biofuel on the market. But local production of bioethanol from sugar cane in Japan currently costs about 140 yen per litre, according to the Nikkei.
Other participants in the project include companies from the petrochemical, biotechnology, food, plant engineering, agricultural machinery and automotive sectors.
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries reportedly will set up a joint panel on the production of biofuel on Wednesday, with companies, universities and others slated to launch studies on the topic and experiments next fiscal year.
It is unclear what kind of funding the initiative will receive.
References:
Forbes: Japan's Nippon Oil, other companies to develop low-cost bioethanol - report - November 18, 2007.
GreenCarCongress: Report: 16 Major Japanese Firms to Partner on Developing Low-Cost Technology for Cellulosic Ethanol - November 18, 2007.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home