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Report
No.250302 |
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- Domestic - |
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New Bio-fuels Council to Aim at Cost Reduction Toward the production of bio-fuels made from cellulose biomass such as rice straw and thinnings, Ministries of Economy, Trade and Industry and of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries set up a council of bio-fuels technological innovation on November 21 of 2007. The council mainly aims at the reduction of bio-fuels production cost to 40 yen per liter no later than 2015 and will develop a technological innovation plan by the end of March of 2008. The ministries have focused their attention on cellulose for the increase in bio-fuels production that does not compete with foods. The council will improve the technology to produce bio-fuels in order to achieve the production cost of 40 yen per liter. The figure was determined with taking into consideration the fact that the U.S. set its target price at 34 yen for 2012 given the price competitiveness against gasoline. Members of the council include not only researchers and JA ZEN-NOH's staff but also comprise eminent persons from Toyota Motor Corporation and other companies with relevant technologies. They will identify technological challenges associated with the bio-fuels production and establish annual objectives for the challenges to be addressed. Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries estimates that the cellulose ethanol will cover more than 90% of domestic bio-fuels in around 2030. The cellulose bio-fuels, however, have hardly come into practical use so far due to its high production cost. The fuels are made from plants that absorb carbon dioxide in the course of their growth, which enables the carbon dioxide balance in the air to remain unchanged when they are burnt. This has accelerated the widespread use on a global basis as an environmentally friendly energy that does not lead to global warming. |
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