Japanese companies to jointly research bioethanol

Six Japanese companies, including Nippon Oil Corp., Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd., Toyota Motor Corp., Kajima Corp., Sapporo Engineering Ltd. and Toray Industries Inc. said that they will jointly develop technology, in collaboration with the University of Tokyo, for full-scale bioethanol production. The firms will set up a research association to establish technology by around 2015 to enable them to produce 200,000 kiloliters of bioethanol annually at costs equivalent to producing fossil-based fuels. For the new technology, they will select plants that can grow on land unfit for cultivation to avoid affecting food supplies. The joint project will be carried out from the end of fiscal years 2008-2013, at an estimated cost of ¥4-5 billion (US$43.57-54.46 million). (February 9, 2009)