Utilizing enzymes, it can be used by anyone, anywhere
Development and implementation of CO₂ resource utilization technology

Social issues to be addressed

We are taking on the challenge of reducing CO₂ emissions, a top priority issue that concerns the very survival of humanity. Since the Industrial Revolution, the concentration of CO₂ in the atmosphere has continued to increase, and if things continue as they are, temperatures will rise by 10% in the next 20 years.°CThere are also predictions that it will rise.2050Carbon neutrality, which will reduce CO₂ emissions to virtually zero by 2025, and carbon negative, which will look beyond that(*1)We hope to realize a society where people can live comfortably.

Currently, there are technologies for capturing, utilizing, and storing CO₂ (CCUSTechnologies for CO₂ utilization are being developed around the world. However, many of the existing CO₂ utilization technologies require high-temperature and high-pressure reaction conditions to convert CO₂ into a resource, consuming large amounts of energy. For this reason, securing large amounts of energy sources that do not emit CO₂ is a major challenge. Furthermore, technologies for storing CO₂ underground have not completely eliminated the environmental risks associated with CO₂ storage, and some question their fundamental solution.

We are an existingCCUSWe are taking a unique approach to address the challenges of high temperature and pressure and energy consumption that the technology faces.

(*1) This refers to a situation in which the amount of CO₂ absorbed exceeds the amount of CO₂ emitted by economic activity. It is an even stronger initiative than "carbon neutral," which aims to achieve virtually zero CO₂ emissions.

Approach

From the perspective of material circulation, we are developing sustainable CO₂ resource recycling technology to contribute to global CO₂ reduction. Specifically, by combining a special electrically conducting enzyme with a gas diffusion electrode, we are developing a technology that converts CO₂ in the air into another substance using electricity in a room temperature, normal pressure, neutral environment. This technology has the great advantage of being "usable by anyone, anywhere," and we aim to widely disseminate it as a safe and familiar decarbonization solution.

By using this technology to convert CO₂ into a bioresource, it is possible to capture CO₂ generated in daily life, such as through methane fermentation, brewing, and human breathing.₂The annual amount of emissions in Japan is5,00010,000 tons(*2)This is equivalent to about a quarter of the amount of CO₂ that needs to be captured in 2050.

This technology, powered by renewable enzymes and sustainable energy, can be combined with biomanufacturing to create new products from CO₂. By consistently converting CO₂ into a resource and commercializing it, we can bring about social change toward true carbon neutrality.

(*2)Source: ①Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (2021) Green Growth Strategy for Carbon Neutrality by 2050,②NEDO (2020) "Overview of CO₂ Separation and Capture Technology"

What we will do in this project

• Development of electrodes with low-concentration CO₂ recovery function
• Considering the commercialization of bioelectrochemical recycling of gaseous CO₂
• Building the foundations for a sustainable society beyond 2050