We are doing research for solutions to global warming using CO2 absorption ability of Euglena.The production efficiency of Euglena is said to be more than10 times higher than that of tropical rain forests and thus expected to reduce the increasing CO2.In 2009 we performed and succeeded in experiment of absorption of CO2 mixed in the exhausts of a thermal (coal) power plant located in Okinawa. We passed the exhaust gas into a Euglena culture tank and found that Euglena grew better than with normal air. This result demonstrated an effective and potential solution to the global warming.
Producing oil from Euglena is the biggest challenge we are facing. The biofuel produced from food items like sugar cane, corn or palm causes remarkable rise in food price as it competes with food.
That is why raw materials for producing next generation biofuel should be something that does not conflict with agricultural products.
Considering all the problems scientists have faced to produce biofuel, we concluded that, Euglena can be a potential answer for them. Besides,Euglena is also attracting the attention as a raw material of the second generation bio fuel.
From early vision in this field, we pushed forward various researches to produce fuel from Euglena. We are aiming for producing algal fuel as a new energy source that can replace the fossil fuel by collaboration researches with different universities all over Japan.
For its richness in protein and nutrients, Euglena's applications to feed of domestic animals and fish cultivation are also in our scope. Specially, Euglena has been researched for feed for fish cultivation and it has been revealed that it contributes in decreasing the death rate of fish. The residues of Euglena fuel contain significant amount of protein. Therefore, by producing fuel and feed by Euglena, we can maximize the use of resources without producing waste.