Japan to use Origin Oil’s algae technology for biofuels production

U.S.-based OriginOil, Inc., the developer of a breakthrough energy production process for the oil and algae industries, announced that its longstanding research partner in Japan has received government funding for an algae biofuels program that will provide renewable fuels and help eliminate radioactive materials. The program intends to use OriginOil’s algae harvesting technology.
Takaaki Maekawa, president of the Research Institute of Tsukuba Bio-tech (RITB), confirmed that the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) has approved the grant. The project involves the construction of a one-acre site for biofuels production and toxic remediation using algae. Maekawa plans to use OriginOil’s algae harvesting technology in the programs funded by the grant and by private investors, which could potentially expand to 100 sites or more.
The Japanese government has made the development of renewable energy a top budgetary priority in the wake of the Fukushima disaster. No limits have been placed on the Fiscal Year 2013 budget on reconstruction expenses following the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
Algae production has the unique potential to provide renewable fuels and at the same time help eliminate radioactive materials from contaminated land; numerous studies have shown that algae absorb radioactive cesium, a contaminant that can cause radiation sickness and death. A recent test conducted by the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research (RIKEN) showed that a strain of microalgae can successfully remove almost 90% of all radioactive materials from cesium-contaminated water.
Maekawa said that the ministry has approved initial funding for two initial sites: one will be situated near Narita International Airport and the other in Fukushima, site of the March 2011 nuclear accident. (September 14, 2012)