Euglena, Petronas sign joint research agreement on large-scale algae production technology for biofuel feedstock

Euglena Co. Ltd. announced Aug. 28 that it has signed a comprehensive joint-research agreement this month with Petronas Research Sdn. Bhd. of Malaysia to establish large-scale production technology for microalgae and use it as a raw material for biofuels such as sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO), also known as renewable diesel.

Petronas Research is a subsidiary of the Malaysian global energy group Petroliam Nasional Berhad, which handles the research and development division.

Euglena and Petronas Research will begin joint research into the development of technologies for the large-scale production of microalgae, including cultivation, algae collection, oil extraction and the use of byproducts such as defatted algae, with the aim of supplying feedstock to a biofuel production plant by Euglena Co., Petronas and Enilive, which announced a final-investment decision last month.

Based on its close partnership with Petronas Research, Euglena said it will work to make more concrete contributions to solving climate change issues through joint research.

In other company biofuel news, Euglena announced Aug. 23 that it and Hinomaru Jidosha Kogyo Co. Ltd. have been selected as operators for the Tokyo metropolitan government’s 2024 “Biofuel Utilization Business Promotion Support Project,” a public offering.

This support program aims to contribute to the decarbonization of Tokyo and the revitalization of biofuel-related industries by publicly inviting businesses to apply for commercialization and implementation of environmentally friendly biofuels in vehicles and other applications and by providing subsidies for a portion of the costs associated with the efforts of biofuel developers and others.

In this support project, Hinomaru Jidosha Kogyo’s free shuttle buses operating between the east and west sides of Tokyo Station, as well as the city sightseeing Sky Hop and Sky Bus will use a 20 percent blend of HVO.

“We will work to promote decarbonization within Tokyo with the aim of reducing emissions,” Euglena stated. “In addition, through various promotions carried out inside and outside the vehicles during the period of this support project, we will widely promote the effectiveness of blended biofuels and build a system that will enable us to continuously contribute to decarbonization in the future.”