JX Nippon Oil and Energy to Further Euglena Company's Project

---

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Euglena Company Limited (EC), which is in the Entrepreneur Plaza of the University of Tokyo, was purchased by Nippon Oil Corporation last year. Since then, Nippon Oil, known for the ENEOS brand, and Nippon Mining Holdings Incorporated merged to form JX Nippon Oil and Energy Corporation (JX) and established JX Holdings Incorporated (TYO:5020) (Tokyo, Japan). JX is now planning to move the Euglena Project to its existing Yokohama oil refinery.

EC, which conducts research with the unicellular protist euglena, specializes in promoting the use of euglena in food, supplements, fertilizers and fuel. So far, EC has produced a supplement called "Euglena Oure," which promotes better intestinal health. JX plans to invest $111 million to construct a facility in which EC can conduct further research on the utilization of euglena for fuel. Euglena, which uses CO2 much like plants and can thrive in concentrations of carbon dioxide of up to 40%, can be used in conjunction with power plants, iron works, refineries, etc. to reduce CO2 emissions and produce more euglena. For example, a plant that produces 4,300 tons per day of carbon dioxide can, in turn, produce 3,000 tons per day of euglena. The euglena can be harvested and desiccated, and afterward processed to produce bio-ethanol.

JX plans to begin construction of a cultivation, processing, and research facility at its Yokohama refinery, which is just south of Tokyo in Kanagawa prefecture, sometime during the third quarter of 2011. The production scale of jet fuel-grade bio-ethanol has yet to be determined; however, construction is scheduled to conclude during the second quarter of 2018. Original staff from EC, headed by Kengo Suzuki, will later remove to the Yokohama refinery to commit to JX's Euglena Project.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. IIR's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.